Man’s best friend has been known for some pretty amazing accomplishments, like Laika, a stray Moscow pup who became one of the first living creatures to orbit Earth.
Feats of exploration aside, would our friendly canine companions go as far as seeking revenge? So claim some on social media.
“Dog travels more than 100 km to bite its owner after being abandoned,” reads a graphic shared in a July 18 Facebook post, which has more than 1,000 interactions.
“Good for the dog hope he finds a forever home,” commented one Facebook user.
“I love this wonderful dog and would love to own such a hero dog!” said another.
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An abandoned pet getting retribution against a negligent owner makes for a unique story. But there’s one problem: the tale is entirely fictitious.
USA TODAY has reached out to the poster for comment.
Dogs have traveled great distances to reunite with their owners. In 1924, Bobbie the Wonder Dog trekked over 2,800 miles from Indiana to Silverton, Oregon, where his owners lived.
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But the dog mentioned in the Facebook post was entirely made up for a satircal story published online in 2018. The story, laced with grammatical errors and absurdist descriptions, was published by There is News. A link to a legal disclaimer at the bottom of the story warns readers, “The content of TIN is fiction and does not correspond to reality. All references, names, brands or institutions that appear on the site are used as contextual elements, as in any novel or fiction account.”
Based on our research, we rate as SATIRE the claim that a dog traveled 100 kilometers to bite its owner after being abandoned. The story was published on a humor and satire website in June 2018. The website itself has a disclaimer warning the story, along with other content, is fiction.
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