Internet in Hysterics by Dog's Digging: 'You Won't Believe What She Buried'

A hilarious video of a dog in Ireland frantically burying its "treasure" in dirt has gone viral on TikTok, where it has received more than 159,000 views.

The clip shared by Sophie (@imsophieogrady) was posted with a caption that reads: "You won't believe what she buried."

A dog's tendency to bury food is a part of their ancestry to safeguard their valuables, such as food. "Burying food was simply necessary for survival," veterinarians Dr. Ryan Llera and Dr. Lynn Buzhardt noted in an article for VCA, one of North America's largest animal-hospital chains, with more than 1,000 facilities.

Food was often hard to come by in the wild, so dogs "ate a little fresh meat, then safely stored the remainder for future consumption by burying it," the veterinarians said.

"Even though the domestic dog knows that the food in his bowl will be replenished, and he does not need to worry about where his next meal will come from, the inherited instinct to bury food prevails," they said.

A message overlaid on the TikTok video reads: "My dog buried treasure, let's see what it is," while a voice says: "I saw my dog go off with something" and "burying it frantically," adding that "she always does this with stuff."

The video cuts to a shot of the base of what looks like a small tree where the dog apparently hid the "treasure."

As the owner digs up the dirt using a branch, a message overlaid on the video reads: "My dog is panicking in the background lol [laugh out loud]," before she pulls out a slice of pizza from a pile of earth. The dog is later seen grabbing it back from the owner, presumably to go "bury it again."

In a later comment, the original poster wrote: "We actually felt so bad and put back another slice she had it eaten within an hour."

One TikToker in the latest viral post, BXTH Studio, commented that the dog buried the pizza "so it can develop flavour," to which the original poster replied, "it's just marinating I swear!!"

Veterinarians Llera and Buzhardt said that "a culinary plus" of burying food was that "the organic content of the earth marinated the meat, giving it a satisfying taste for future meals."

Burying carcasses and bones also prolonged the freshness of the meat longer by keeping it away from direct sunlight, while also keeping "non-burrowing insects away," they said.

User buffaloimsosorry wrote that the dog in the video was "saving it [food] for later," while Ailsa commented: "she's so proud of herself. I love her."

TikToker daniel1000013 wrote: "She did an amazing job of burying it!" while Le dog agreed: "Wow that's a thorough bury job if I've ever seen one."

Maisie and Nikita wrote: "So funny wonder what else she hidden in the past."

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