The dog couldn’t care less that his owner was being robbed—he just wanted the thief to rub his belly.
People get dogs to be loving members of their families, but sometimes dogs have a second role—to guard the house. But not all dogs are made for guarding anything other than their favorite stuffed animal. Some dogs are too small to scare anyone away and some dogs will just lick intruders to death.
A Golden Retriever in San Diego just proved to his owners that he is definitely in the latter group. The shaggy dog caught a stranger stealing his owner’s $1,300, 2019 Electra 3-speed bicycle out of the family’s garage redhanded. But instead of barking to alert his humans or attempting to scare the bike thief, he happily asked for belly rubs.
If you thought the bike bandit was going to ignore the wagging tail and sweet doggy requests, then you’d be wrong. Now would be the perfect time to explain how the friendly dog stopped the robbery in its tracks.
“You’re so cool, come here! You’re the coolest dog I’ve ever known,” the thief tells the dog as he rubs his face. “I love you, too. Come here. You’re a sweetheart. I want you to come home with me.
Just a full-on, audible doggy-human love fest going on in the garage while the dog’s owner is none the wiser. The dog wasn’t working to distract the bike thief; he was there for his own personal gain, getting head scratches and belly rubs from all who enter the open garage. And while the dog momentarily thwarted the burglar, he didn’t prevent him from stealing the bike.
The man and the bike are now nowhere to be found, and there’s probably a sneaking suspicion that the family’s golden retriever wouldn’t alert anyone if the guy came back. A home surveillance camera caught the entire encounter, which was uploaded to TikTok where it has over 2.5 million views.
Crocodiles push stray dog to safety after it falls into danger-filled river
Scientists believe rare rescue is a sign that the fearsome reptiles may be capable of compassion
In an apparent example of interspecies compassion, a group of crocodiles appeared to usher a dog to safety after it fell into a dangerous river.
The dog, believed to be a stray, was being chased by a pack of other feral canines when it jumped into the River Savirtri in India out of harm’s way, or so it thought.
But the river was infested by local mugger crocodiles, and three of them were floating near the stray.
This should have been the end of the helpless pup, with the crocs being “well within the striking range,” according to a report published by scientists in the Journal of Threatening Taxa.
However, the crocodiles appeared to usher the dog back to safety on the shore.
“These crocodiles were actually touching the dog with their snouts and nudging it to move further for a safe ascent on the bank and eventually escape,” the researchers wrote.
“The muggers were well within the striking range and could have easily devoured the dog, yet none of them attacked and instead chose to nudge it towards the bank, implying that the hunger drive was absent.”
The researchers say that the crocodiles were “docile”. Adult male mugger crocs can reach 18 feet long and weigh up to 1,000 pounds, according to the Wildlife Institute of India.
The researchers said they believe that the pup rescue could be a sign of the crocs having emotional intelligence.
“The curious case of a dog ‘rescued’ by the group of crocodiles reported here seems more on lines of empathy than altruistic behaviour,” the scientists said.
Aside from the muggers’ apparent alliance with stray dogs, scientists discovered another wholesome obsession that the crocs appeared to have: marigold flowers.
Crocodiles are often seen floating or laying in marigolds, often keeping “physical contact” with the yellow flowers, which the researchers note have compounds that can protect skin from fungi and bacteria.
The Savitri River is polluted with sewage and other harmful ingredients, so this may be why they like to have contact with the petals.
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