In a viral TikTok video, a dog owner revealed her pup’s unusual request to be put above everyone so he can judge them—and it obviously has to do with the cat who raised him.
The hilarious video, shared on Saturday under the username @notannieleal, shows the small pup lying on top of the TV console, in a loaf position and with his head right up, looking down on everyone with contempt, just like a cat would.
“Can someone please diagnose my dog? He cries for us to put him up here and likes looking down on us until he asks to be brought back down,” the owner writes in the caption. “Cat behavior.”
The poster, 34-year-old Annie Leal, told Newsweek that her pup, Tater Tot, likes being place on top of the TV console from time to time since he was a puppy, but he also has a fascination with just being on top of things, anything.
Leal said: “He’s always loved being on top of tall things; tables, desks, chairs, sometimes even on top of the fridge. I never leave him alone when doing this in case he wants to get down.”
The poster only discovered this by accident, while sitting at her desk to work. Leal said: “He would bark and I didn’t know why. I tried everything to understand him but he would just keep going until I placed him on top of the desk.
“Then he would calm down and just chill and enjoy the view for hours as long as I was sitting with him. That evolved to him liking being on kitchen islands and other tall furniture.”
In another video posted a few days later, Leal said that the 12-year-old pup was actually raised by a cat the first few years of his life; he would follow the feline everywhere and try to imitate it. And while Tater Tot no longer lives with the cat, the habit of sitting somewhere high, and judging all the humans in the house, has stuck with him.
Leal said: “I’ve never met a dog like Tater. I say he’s more like my roommate and friend. He’s so communicative, interesting, and quirky. He has his own unique personality and we are bonded for life.
“He also likes to be carried around like a baby or sits on my shoulder when I’m on the couch; loves turning opened suitcases into beds. He’s just a quirky dog, who might think he’s a cat.”
Tater Tot is an adopted pup, who has brought joy and laughter into his mom’s life, despite judging her from above form time to time.
“If you’re looking for a furry best friend, always consider adopting first. There’s so many dogs, and cats, just like Tater that are looking for their forever homes,” Leal added.
The video quickly went viral on social media and has so far received over 4.6 million views and more than 780,000 likes on the platform.
One user, Adamaris Lorenzo, commented: “He just wants to look down among the peasants he lives with.”
Kitkatmac437 posted: “I think it’s pretty clear. He suffers from shelf-righteousness.”
Beckyb199161 added: “He identifies as an elf on the shelf—how else will he know if you’re all behaving?”
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