An adorable video of an unusual mixed breed dog has gone viral on TikTok with over two million views.
In the video, 20-year-old fashion design student Lauren Bolton, from England, reveals her four-month-old dog Scooby, who is a French bulldog-Chow Chow mix. He's grey in color, with the ears of a Frenchie, and the face of a Chow Chow. She captioned the video: "My little teddy bear."
"It looks like something I need very urgently for my mental health," commented one online fan.
Lauren, who is designing her own range of dog accessories, told Newsweek: "We saw him advertised on pet classifieds site Pets4Homes. We originally wanted a Chow Chow and did a lot of research, but then we came across Scooby and fell in love!"
Chow Chows originated in ancient China and are described by the American Kennel Club (AKC) as the "cleanest of dogs. They housebreak easily, have little doggy odor, and are known to be as fastidious as cats". They are a calm breed, and are "always refined and dignified" according to the AKC, and "happily take to city life" due to their lack of special exercise needs.
The French bulldog is similarly suited to city life due to low exercise needs, and is one of the world's most popular dog breeds. It recently took the number one spot away from the Labrador retriever, which had held it since 1991. The AKC describes them as "playful, alert, adaptable and completely irresistible" and report that they are excellent guard dogs and "happily adapt to life with singles, couples, or families."
"Scooby is definitely a mix of both dogs' characteristics," said Lauren, "He is super loyal and bossy to other dogs like the Chow, but sociable and affectionate similar to the French bulldog! He loves a cuddle and follows my boyfriend and I everywhere."
Lauren has been with her boyfriend for six years. They recently bought a house together, and she wanted a dog for security and comfort. "Having Scooby there has just been amazing," she says, "He really is our little best friend and has changed our lives completely. I started putting him on social media just to document his journey, and it really blew up! I think mainly because not many people have seen a Chow Chow and French bulldog. In the space of two weeks he's currently got 12.3k followers and 402.8k likes with two videos nearly reaching 2 million views, which is just crazy!"
Users loved the mixed breed in the comments. "It's like a frenchie except it can actually breathe properly," said one user, while another said: "The cutest dog I've ever seen." One user remarked: "Strange cross breed but admittedly cute. People say vet bills but mongrels seem to be untouchable, my pedigrees are pretty much allergic to water."
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.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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