With the spooky season on people’s tails, one owner got in the spirit early by buying decorations at the end of August with a side quest to prank her dog.
Lindsey saw a doggy skeleton Halloween decoration at Home Depot and immediately added it to her cart. Not only was she prepping early for the holiday, but she also wanted to play a little joke on her black Labrador, Jack, as the decoration looked exactly like him.
She told Newsweek via Instagram that she placed the fake Labrador around the corner of the house to see if it would catch her dog off guard. Lindsey expected a subdued reaction because Jack usually isn’t fazed by items similar to the decoration. However, the September 8 Instagram video posted to the account @mr_jack_the_lab proved otherwise.
Jack started running toward the unknown dog in his yard barking the entire time, but before getting to the decoration, he stopped at a distance to assess the situation. Meanwhile, his tail kept wagging.
“He was so excited, but at the same time a little unsure,” she said. “As I moved closer to it with him he stopped barking. It was definitely very brief!”
He finally got closer to the unknown object sitting in his yard and hesitantly stuck his nose out to get a sniff. When he determined all was safe, Jack turned back to his owner in disbelief that she would ever trick him like that.
Screenshots from a September 8 Instagram video of a Labrador inspecting a Halloween prop. The owner purchased the doggy skeleton decoration because it looked exactly like her fur baby.
@mr_jack_the_lab/Instagram
Jack quickly became fond of the Halloween doggy or perhaps, a little too fond. Lindsey said he has a “notorious history of stealing” items like the remote and wanting to be chased. This decoration was no different. Jack tried stealing it off the front porch, but the attempt failed as it was too big to fit in his mouth.
“Needless to say we probably won’t put it out until Halloween,” she added. “I don’t want him to ruin it since they are out of stock everywhere now lol.”
Viewers flocked to the video and by Thursday, the clip brought in over 4.5 million views and 269,000 likes.
“Typical Lab, ferociously barking all while wagging their tail,” commented an Instagram user.
Another added: “The hair on his back, then when he realizes he’s been pranked he comes to you and gives you a nudge like, ‘Okayyy mom, joke’s over!'”
Other dogs have shown different reactions: “Have this same one and my Luna can’t stop barking at it!!”
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