A dog owner who checked on her senior Shiba Inu at doggy day care has left the internet in tears with what she saw.
Jenna Menta’s family dog, Mason, 11, has been going to day care infrequently since he was just a puppy, and he even went to a canine kindergarten prior to that. However, despite the years of trying to make new friends, it appears that Mason still hasn’t quite mastered his social skills.
Menta, 26, from Manhattan, New York, decided to check the daycare footage to see how Mason was getting along, and she couldn’t resist sharing it on TikTok (@timezones.tinis). The clip shows Mason just sitting in the middle of the room, seemingly blocking everything else out and ignoring the dogs around him.
While Menta told Newsweek that she “knew he was fine,” she couldn’t help but feel bad for poor Mason. He certainly has a tendency to be dramatic, and enjoys his independence, so there are times when daycare proves rather testing.
“I always check in on him when he’s at doggy day care, and usually he’s walking around, sniffing other dogs, or just chilling out,” Menta said. “But this time, he was sat right in the center of the room by himself, daydreaming or maybe disassociating.
She continued: “He’s an introverted dog, so it made me wonder what was going on in his mind. Being around other dogs is a good thing for him, but he doesn’t care very much and would rather be home by himself (like a cat).”
Mason goes to day care sporadically, usually when his owners are traveling, or if they’re out for a long day and want to give him “a change of scenery.” As a result, there’s often different dogs each time he goes, but he has made some friends over the years.
Rather than being a social butterfly, Mason prefers to find one or two buddies and sticks with them.
“The daycare tells us the names of any dogs he interacted or played with. They also always tell us that he’s super picky with his food,” Menta said.
“Shibas are known to be very independent. He’s not particularly social with people or other dogs, but he loves his family. The cutest thing is when I go home to visit, and he gets excited. His version of excitement is not necessarily what you’d imagine, it’s way tame and low key, but that’s his way of showing affection,” she continued.
Since the footage of Mason at daycare was shared on TikTok, it’s gone viral with over 608,400 views and more than 55,700 likes at the time of writing. The caption alongside the clip jokes: “He’s definitely not the most social guy.”
Internet users can’t get enough of Mason’s refusal to engage with the other pups at day care, as many fellow introverts could relate. In just a matter of days, the viral TikTok video has amassed 200 comments so far, as social media users lauded the Shiba Inu.
One comment reads: “Me if I was a dog.”
Another TikTok user wrote: “That’s me in public gatherings.”
While another person added: “that’s the equivalent of standing in the corner checking The Weather Network.”
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