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A video of a golden retriever appearing to steal a blanket has gone viral on TikTok.
The clip was posted by Rusty The Rascal (@rusty.the.rascal), the TikTok account of a golden retriever called Rusty, and had over 933,000 views at the time of writing.
A caption shared with the post reads "I stole another blanket" as a dog is seen staring into the camera before dragging the blanket onto a sofa.
Several TikTokers defended the dog's actions, saying he's just craving a "cuddle."
The golden retriever's bold move of stealing in plain view of the camera is not surprising because dogs are not be deterred by the presence of "watching eyes," according to a January 2020 study.
The study, published in the peer-reviewed journal Scientific Reports, said that people are less "likely to carry out risky behavior in general" when they feel they're being watched.
Yet, "dogs, despite being highly sensitive to human eyes, do not show the watching-eye effect," the study said.
Perhaps a novelty factor may have also influenced the dog in the latest video, according to a 2012 study conducted with Labrador retrievers.
The study, published in the peer-reviewed journal Animal Cognition, said "domestic dogs are reported to show intense but transient neophilia towards novel objects."
"Novel and highly desirable objects, such as a tissue that has been stolen from a garbage can, a favorite toy, human food, or a piece of rawhide are some of the items that dogs may aggressively protect," added veterinarians Debra Horwitz and Gary Landsberg added, in an article for VCA, one of North America's largest animal hospital chains.
A voice in the latest clip can be heard saying: "What do you have..?"
As the dog is seen dragging the blanket onto a couch, the voice says: "You have that off our bed...Rusty, seriously?"
The voice continues "You know you can't have that," as the dog stares back at the camera while holding a corner of the blanket in his mouth.
"Oh, you are so rotten," the voice says as the clip ends.
Several users on TikTok were delighted by the golden retriever's antics in the latest video.
User noname808 said: "He just wants his emotional support blanket, let the baby cuddle with it."
LaurenJ_168 wrote: "But momma I needs a blanket to snuggle on the couch with!!"
Ashley Rose said: "Aaww it smells like u n he wants to cuddle."
Kat Sincair said "such a cute blanket thief," while angelawilson1602 wrote "Too cute to get mad!"
Susan O'Leary noted: "I love how he stops to access your tone. Then he realizes you're not really angry and he proceeds as usual. So cute."
Newsweek has contacted the original poster for comment via TikTok.
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.
About the writer
Soo Kim is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. She covers various lifestyle stories, specializing in Read more