Pet Cam Reveals Dog's Heartbreaking Reaction to Being Locked in the Kitchen

A dog owner was left heartbroken after seeing how her dachshund reacted to being accidentally locked in their kitchen in complete darkness.

Liz Cannon from White Haven, Cumbria, in the U.K., captured the moment her pet pooch Klaus ended up trapped in the pitch black on a security camera she had set up on the counter.

Watching it back was not a fun experience for the avid dog lover. "Honestly seeing him go to follow him and the door getting shut on his face made me cry," she told Newsweek.

Dogs can suffer from anxiety in much the same ways humans do. In 2020, a Finnish study of 13,700 dogs published in the scientific journal Nature found 72.5 percent experienced some form of anxiety-related behavior.

Noise sensitivity was the most commonly reported, with 32 of pet owners who took part in the study reporting that their dogs experienced this particular issue. They do differ slightly when it comes to a fear of the dark.

As Ryan Neile, head of behavior services at animal welfare charity Blue Cross, previously explained to The Mirror: "Generally speaking, it isn't common for dogs to be scared of the dark as their powerful eyesight allows them to see really clearly in low light."

That said, Neile notes that there are exceptions. "It is possible for dogs to become scared of anything, including the dark, for any number of reasons," he said.

Klaus hasn't had much to be fearful of in his life. Klaus became part of Cannon's family after she decided to get another dog to accompany her other dachshund, Gretchen, which she has had for the past five years.

"I'd always wanted a second one to keep her company and fell in love with the color of Klaus when I saw him," she said. "The breeder was close by and it was just perfect timing so we got him and the rest is history. They're best friends now, completely inseparable."

Cannon regularly documents their adventures together on TikTok, posting clips of Gretchen and Klaus under the handle gnk_dachshunds. "Their favorite things to do is go to the beach and dig up stones and anything to do with water. Gretchen LOVES to swim. We go out on paddle boards a lot and they both come with us and love jumping in and swimming between the boards," she said.

"If we aren't outside, sitting in the window barking at anyone who walks by would have to be a close second. That or constantly putting balls under the sofa for me or their dad to retrieve for them - as if they're playing with us not the other way around."

But while Cannon's videos of Gretchen and Klaus have helped them garner a healthy following, it's her latest video, showing Klaus' nighttime incident in the kitchen that has been garnering the most attention recently, with 1 million views and counting.

Posted to TikTok with an on-screen caption reading, "heartbreaking," the video shows Klaus standing next to Cannon's boyfriend, Taylor, seemingly waiting for him to notice he's there. Unfortunately, his human companion does nothing of the sort.

Instead, he is seen exiting the room and closing the door behind him, leaving Klaus in the dark. The camera switches to night mode to capture the most heartbreaking moment of the entire video: Klaus approaching the door, seemingly in disbelief that he has been left inside.

"Both dogs were asleep on the sofa snuggled under blankets - Klaus was on the armchair on the other side of the room. My boyfriend had gotten up and gone through to the kitchen for a snack and had his noise canceling gaming headset on," Cannon explained.

"I hadn't heard Klaus get up off the sofa as I was watching the TV. He must have done it very quietly!! From where I was sitting it looked like he was still under the blanket."

Around an hour later, Cannon got up to go to bed. Usually at this point, Klaus would have gotten up to do the same but when he didn't, she went over to his blanket where he had been sitting and suddenly realized he wasn't there anymore.

"It was like what kids do on television programs when they make it look like someone's in their bed but it's just blankets," she said. "I said to Taylor, 'Where's Klaus?' and his face dropped and I just said, 'You haven't ...'"

Thankfully, Klaus was released soon after and had pretty much forgotten about his ordeal 10 minutes later - but Cannon has not. "Me and Klaus plan on locking dad in a cupboard for an hour next time; see how he likes it," she said.

Watching the footage back, Cannon was surprised by one thing about Klaus' behavior. "If he'd have barked, I would have heard him but he didn't; he just wandered quietly 'round the kitchen, which is shocking because he's a very barky dog usually," she said. "Maybe he knew the longer he was in there, the more treats he would get."

But while the footage may not make for pleasant viewing, Cannon and her partner have definitely learned a lesson. "We will definitely not be letting it happen again," she said.

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.