Within 13 hours of being shared on the subreddit r/likeus by @My_Memes_Will_Cure_U, a video clip of a small dog playing hide-and-seek with its owner has become a smash hit among the members of the popular online community.
The clips has already accrued more than 40,000 upvotes and 400 comments. One moderator even described it as their "new favorite post on this sub."
In the clip, the curly-haired pup can be seen shielding itself from its owner's view behind the right side of a wall. Within moments, the owner begins mounting a neighboring set of stairs. When she nears the top, the dog springs out at her, wagging hard and making her smile.
In a subsequent scene, the dog plays the same trick. In the third and final one, however, the poodle modifies its modus operandi by switching sides of the wall. Once the owner is on her way up, she looks over to the right, expecting to see the dog there. Taking advantage of her surprise, the dog reveals itself, finally succeeding at its apparent aim: to catch her off guard. Obviously overjoyed, it begins spinning in circles in glee.
"It...it intentionally changed up its angle of attack to catch her off guard. That is a level of intelligence I did not expect from a dog," one commenter marveled.
"Holy s*** that's raptor level brains there. Might want to lock up your weapons when you aren't home," another cautioned.
The clip appears to have been lifted from the Instagram account @todayyearsold, which in turn appears to have lifted it from the account @chachi.sherri. The account, which has more than 2,000 followers, purports to belong to a toy poodle named Chachi from Sydney, Australia. Born on May 6, 2020, or so the bio alleges, Chachi is now a little over a year old. Nothing if not a bona fide Gen Z-er, she also has a TikTok.
Yesterday, @chachi.sherri shared the clip, accompanied by a caption that included a pawprint emoji. Since then, the clip has been viewed more than 6,000 times. Most comments had one thing in common: unabashed praise for Chachi's cuteness and cleverness.
"Hahahaha I could watch this baby for hours," one commenter wrote.
"Awesome dog never stop playing with him," another wrote.
"So adorable!! Pure happiness with a dog like this!!" a third remarked.
"My heart is melting faster than glaciers," a fourth said, waxing poetic.
Poodles are among the world's brightest dogs. In terms of intelligence, they are second only to border collies, according to The Canine Journal.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
