A husky who ripped a door to bits and left a trail of destruction running through his owner's house has left dog lovers in stitches, thanks to his guilt-stricken reaction to getting caught.
In a video posted to TikTok by TheMadRussian, the shocking extent of the damage done by Tovarish while his human companion slept is chronicled for all the world to see.
At the time of writing, the clip, which can be viewed here, has racked up over 10 million views. In the footage, Tovarish's owner begins by introducing viewers to his two other, better behaved dogs, a rescue husky and a German Shepherd.
The trouble begins as he takes viewers down a corridor in his house. Suddenly, broken bits of plaster and other debris can be seen littering the carpet along with chewed up dog toys and other random bits of material.
There is worse to come just around the corner though, as he enters the room where Tovarish was meant to have been sleeping. It quickly becomes apparent that sleeping is the last thing this husky has been doing.
Not only has the carpet and parts of the floor underneath been ripped up, but the lower half of the door to the room has also been savagely torn apart with several bits hanging off what remains.
"They said 'get a husky,'" the dog owner remarks. "'It'll be fun,' they said." Evidently annoyed at the damage done, he can be heard saying: "I've never wanted to murder a dog [this much] in my entire life."
The culmination of the clip comes next as the pet owner decides to go looking for the guilty party. "Where are you Tovarish?" he says, turning a corner only to find the husky cowering in the corner, evidently aware of the trouble he is in.
Unable to meet their owner's gaze, the dog's sense of remorse is palpable, with the man on the video noting that the canine is behaving like they are feeling "guilty."
The dog's reaction dominated much of the discussion in the comments section accompanying the video.
Amanda Ross Phillips joked: "Nope innocent, someone broke in." Meredith_fl also saw the funny side, writing that the dog "really needs his lawyer present before questioning."
Brent.Rothy, meanwhile, quipped that the door "had it coming" and was "talking mad."
Not everyone was quite so amused by the video though. "Please get a trainer," Jacqui Zakar wrote. "That's extreme separation anxiety or containment phobia. That's also not guilt...that's a learned response."
BudzBitch21 was similarly critical. "Huskies aren't made to be locked inside all day, they are pack animals who need huge amounts of stimulation and exercise." Others suggested the dog owner could have avoided the destruction by housing the dog inside a crate.
In a follow-up video answering the criticism, TheMadRussian said that he did have a crate for the dog but it got "hit in a flood" and needed to be disinfected.
He also explained that Tovarish was being kept separately from the other dogs as he had undergone a sedated X-ray after suffering a spinal injury.
His vet recommended the dog be kept separate from the others while he recovered. The dog owner also sought to clarify that he wasn't bothered by the damage but rather the potential for Tovarish to get injured as a result of the carnage, noting "he's my baby."
He also voiced his appreciation for the dog pulling up the old carpet, explaining that they had planned to do that eventually but Tovarish evidently "just wanted us to do it quicker."
Newsweek has contacted TheMadRussian for comment.
Separation anxiety is a common issue among new dog owners, with chewing and destruction among the most common symptoms.
The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals recommends counterconditioning as a way of reducing or resolving the issue.
"For dogs with separation anxiety, counterconditioning focuses on developing an association between being alone and good things, like delicious food," they say.
"To develop this kind of association, every time you leave the house, you can offer your dog a puzzle toy stuffed with food that will take him at least 20 to 30 minutes to finish."
Tovarish isn't the first dog to go viral after being caught doing something they shouldn't. One dog went viral on Twitter and TikTok after their owner caught them clumsily sitting on top of the family cat.
In another recent example, a dog ended up looking adorably remorseful after their human companion captured them on camera trying to steal food off a kitchen counter.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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