Dog Begs To Join Neighbor's Daycare but Has Instant 'Regret' in Viral Clip

A video of a dog appearing a bit lost after joining a crowd of other canines at a daycare session has gone viral on TikTok.

The video was posted four days ago by @dogtownva and had 1.5 million views at the time of writing. A caption shared with the post simply says: "Meet Willow." A message overlaid on the clip reads: "When the neighbor's dog wants to join daycare."

The footage shows a dog standing up against the side of a wooden fence, looking up at the camera, as a voice is heard saying, "Willow, you wanna come over?" A hand later reaches over to open the fence and lets the dog come to the other side.

The pup is later seen sitting at the center of the yard, appearing bewildered, surrounded by several dogs running past it. Willow flashes a blank stare at the camera as the video ends.

Despite the dog's seemingly nervous, antisocial stance in the viral clip, our canine friends are social beings capable of forming strong relationships with both dogs and humans.

The findings of a March 2019 study published in Scientific Reports showed that "dogs can form relationships of comparable qualities with both humans and other dogs, and that these relationships vary along multiple components across different partners."

Stanley Coren is a professor emeritus in the department of psychology at the University of British Columbia and the author of several books about dogs.

In a February 2013 article for Psychology Today, Coren said: "Dogs that have been properly socialized will congenially approach virtually anything that is alive, regardless of its species, and, unless they receive hostile signals, they will attempt to establish a good-natured relationship."

"Although dogs are happiest when they are in a social situation, the species that they are interacting with is less important than the quality of the interactions," Coren noted.

Several TikTok users were delighted by the dog's reaction in the viral clip.

User amberhamblet735 wrote: "When an introvert shows up to a party and immediately wants to leave." The original poster replied: "Fomo [fear of missing out] or no mo."

MidEvlDed said the dog must have been thinking "actually, I...I regret this."

Paulette wrote: "He doesn't look too sure that he made the right decision."

Becky noted: "She just wanted to know who all was there. She's ready to go now."

Patience Deaton said: "She wanted to be involved, so cute," and janep901 agreed, noting: "Awww, so sweet! She wanted to be included!"

Jasmine Price said: "Aww! The new student nervousness."

User shellywaltersgmail.com wrote: "Pup will eventually fit it. 1st day of school is a bit overwhelming. give it a 2 days more."

Newsweek has contacted the original poster for comment via TikTok. This video has not been independently verified.

Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.