A dog "upset" at being asked to sit on the floor by an Uber driver has gone viral on TikTok.
The video shows Lilybug, a 9-year-old American Staffordshire terrier mix, on the floor of an Uber ride in Manhattan, vocally complaining and making major puppy dog eyes.
"I needed to take Lilybug across town to the vets," her owner Marisa Grimshaw, 39, told Newsweek. "She had suffered a minor injury the week prior playing with a dog friend and it flared up her osteoarthritis and left her a bit lame, so we decided to start Adequan injections."
The text reads: "Our Uber Pet driver asked my dog to sit on the floor instead of the seat and she was very upset about it."
Selecting "Uber Pet" allows passengers to bring a pet for a small extra fee.
TikTok viewers were divided over whether it was fair that the Uber driver asked for Lilybug to sit on the floor.
"I don't blame your pup! It's Uber PET !! He gets a seat for sure," wrote one commenter.
Another disagreed, posting: "It's their car lmao y'all swear having any type of boundary with a dog is insane."
A third joked: "She needs to see out the window and patrol the town!! How dare!!!"
Grimshaw said drivers could opt in or out of the Uber Pet option, which "decreases the chances of an Uber driver arriving, seeing a pet and canceling the ride—which is absolutely their right to do if they don't like animals, have allergies or just have concerns about their car/seats getting dirty or hairy."
She added that despite drivers being able to opt out, she has had drivers turn up, see Lilybug and drive away. She said this had happened twice on the day she filmed her TikTok.
"I imagine this is some combination of the driver not realizing they are opted in to Uber Pet and not wanting to transport a pet, as well as some drivers not being comfortable with bully breeds," she said.
"This particular driver did ask her to sit on the floor, which I understood especially as it had started raining and Lilybug had wet feet," said Grimshaw. "He kindly pushed his seat all the way forward so she had plenty of space.
"However, my dog is dramatic and a little spoiled and likes to sit next to me, so she kept letting out little grunts and moans."
She added that the driver found Lilybug's reaction "funny and endearing after first asking me if she was in pain. By the end of the drive, I think she won him over with her dramatics because he asked if she would like to get on the seat.
"As we were just a few blocks from the vets, I said it was all right, but I really appreciated the offer."
Grimshaw has had Lilybug for nine years. As a puppy, she was found abandoned in a playground and was picked up by animal control.
"She is very sensitive and very vocal about her emotions," said Grimshaw. "There are times each day where she will just grunt or groan until I give her attention, or she'll kind of wave her paw in the air and almost swat me with it. It just makes me laugh, she's so determined to let people know exactly what she's thinking."
Newsweek has reached out to Uber for comment.
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.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Leonie Helm is a Newsweek Life Reporter and is based in London, UK. Her focus is reporting on all things ... Read more
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