Woman Convinced Her Dog Must Have a Day Care Alter Ego Delights Internet

A dog owner has left the internet in stitches after saying that her pet's nickname at day care has left her wondering whether he has an alter ego that she's not aware of.

In a post shared on TikTok in September, under the username @meghanandsteve, the dog owner can be seen picking up the Australian shepherd from day care in her car as he moves back and forth between the front and back seats of the vehicle.

The hilarious clip comes with a caption that reads: "Sometimes I pick up Steve from day care and I'm like I'm here for Steve and they say oh Stevie I'm half expecting them to like walk out with the wrong dog, but then they walk out with Steve.

"Then I'm left wondering well either Steve has a complete alter ego at day care that I don't know anything about because I'm on the outer edge of that circle of his life, or they just think that Stevie is a more appropriate dog name," the caption adds.

"Anyway, maybe the joke's on me right, because he comes home and he tells me how much fun he has at daycare." It is followed by: "Attn [attention] stevies day care workers: thank you for your service."

The poster told Newsweek: "At home it depends, he's usually very active but also enjoys his chill time. He is a good boy and respects the rules at home. He loves a good game of frisbee and enjoys a good kebab as a treat.

"At daycare, he is an absolute maniac and lets loose it seems from the webcams anyway. Basically running around barking for 7 hours straight."

In case you didn't know, dogs, like us, do have their own personalities. The pet-care experts at PetPlan say that dogs typically fit into seven breed groups: pastoral; working; toy; gundog; terrier; hound; and utility. Among these groups, certain behaviors and personalities are instinctive and usually have something to do with the role the breed was originally bred to do.

Pastoral dogs, which include Aussies and German shepherds among others, are those who have been bred to work on farms, often in herding roles. These dogs have a naturally strong instinct to herd and love being at the heart of a busy home, with people and animals alike.

"When it comes to training, pastoral breeds are some of the most intelligent dogs out there, with a willingness to learn that means they will pick up new skills and training easily," the PetPlan website says. "These are some of the best dogs to get if you're a new owner due to their trainability."

The video quickly went viral on social media, getting viewers from across TikTok. It has so far received over 2.3 million views and almost 180,000 likes on the platform.

One user, barngirllibba, commented: "Speaking as a dog daycare worker, we nickname all of them lol [laugh out loud]." And Messingist Kassid posted: "My dog daycare called my dog Remmy and it's like... that's not his name."

Destroyer Puppies wrote: "As a past daycare worker, if your dog has a nickname or a whole new name, they really like your dog." And Hvnnty added: "Listen...I worked daycare and used to call a dog charcuterie board....for absolutely no reason. his name was Evan."

Update 12/06/23, 06:09 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with comments from the OP.

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