A mischievous dachshund named Otis has gained viral attention on TikTok after a seemingly bad paw injury turned out to be a lot of drama over nothing—leaving his owner with a £100 ($125) vet bill, and a newfound appreciation for her pup's theatrical flair.
The TikTok video, which was posted last month, has currently been viewed over 620,000 times and was shared by user @otistheweiner. It featured Otis, limping gently around the room with one paw in the air, as his concerned owner wrote in the text overlay: "Us thinking he's seriously injured his paw, barely able to walk."
However, moments later, another clip showed Otis on the same night, this time gleefully chasing his tail, clearly in no pain and perfectly fine. But it seems that wasn't before his owner took him to be checked out.
In the caption, the owner added: "£100 ($125) hole in my wallet." Thankfully, after the vet trip, it was confirmed that the dog was fine.
Newsweek has reached out to @otistheweiner via TikTok for comment.
But Otis' antics struck a chord with fellow pet parents, who flooded the comments section, with their own tales of unnecessary vet visits.
User Gems_Chihiahuas wrote: "My chihuahua did this about 4 months ago... limping, rushed to out-of-hours vets, £300 ($375) later told she'd torn a ligament but they couldn't operate. Turns out, rest was all she needed."
Dawn Louise Price commented: "Mine did this, emergency vets, she had a dog biscuit stuck in her [paw] pad."
Others confessed their pets had faked injuries for attention. "Mine genuinely hurt her paw, then realized the attention she got due to this, so would then fake injuries," posted Lyndsay.
James_Alexx added: "My dog did this... It was pins and needles from lying on her foot."
Otis is far from alone in leaving his owners with a hefty vet bill. Earlier this year, a Rottweiler's $500 vet visit went viral. When the dog refused to eat, her concerned owner thought she was gravely ill, only to discover the dog was simply being picky about her food. As the owner put it, "We created a SPOILED princess running up our bank accounts."
Thankfully, Otis was fine after his paw "injury," but despite this being a false alarm, it is always a good idea to check out any potential symptoms in pets with a professional. It just happens that this time, Otis was playing his own prank.
"Ohh yes, the 'overly dramatic' dachshund," TikTok user Savannah wrote, clearly familiar with similar pets.
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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