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‘Tiny Dognapper’: Little Girl ‘Steals’ Neighbor’s Husky And Replaces It With A Stuffed Toy

Well, can you still consider it stealing if your victim willingly goes with you?

That might be a dog owner’s conundrum when she found out that her seven-year-old neighbor “stole” her Husky and replaced it with a stuffed dog toy.

Amanda Sullivan of Glouchester, Massachusetts caught her neighbor, Olivia Myers, in the act of stealing her dog and shared the clip on TikTok that has now gone viral.

In the video, Olivia approaches Sullivan’s 11-year-old Husky, named Gunnar, who was minding his own business.

@corporalgunnar

She stole my dog in broad day light!!! Can you believe that?! When your 7 year old neighbor just wants a play date with her dog bestie… she steals him and leaves behind a replacement. Shoutout to @Tactipup with the always awesome collars and the @Wyze cam OG for capturing this theft! 🤦‍♀️🤣 #stolendog #tiktok #dogs #funny #funnyvideos

♬ Sneak, suspicious, stupid, thief, sneak in(1108491) – Makotti

The little girl proceeds to swap Gunnar’s collar – from a “Mama’s Boy” collar to an “Olivia’s Boy” collar. And then leaving behind a stuffed Husky toy beside Gunnar before asking the pooch to come with her.

“Gunnar was so conflicted whether he should actually go with her or wait for me to come outside like I always do,” Sullivan wrote in the caption.

After hesitating and barking a few times, Gunnar caved in and went with Olivia.

Sullivan later “confronted” the little girl who she found playing with Gunnar. She asks Olivia, “did you steal my dog? did you change his collar?” earning a mischievous look from the little girl.

She explains, “When I got an alert from my backyard camera and saw what she was doing, I thought I’d let her play it out. I was laughing inside the house, which I think Gunnar heard, which explains why he was so hesitant to go with her.”

“I can’t say that you can call it ‘stealing’ when he goes willingly,” laughs Sullivan.

It turns out that the two are actually best friends! Sullivan reveals to New York Post that Gunnar and Olivia have been inseparable since they met two years ago.

She even says that there has been an ongoing “beef” between the neighbors on who Gunnar belongs to.

But talking to TODAY and describing Gunnar and Olivia as “two peas in a pod”, Sullivan seems to have accepted that there’s just a special and undeniable bond between the two.

“At this point, I’ve accepted that we have shared custody of Gunnar,” says Sullivan.

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Study Reveals Dogs Remember Toy Names Even After Years Of Not Seeing Them

Remember that worn-out stuffed toy you threw away a few years ago? No? Well, chances are, your dog may still remember them.

A new study found that our furry friends have great memory and can actually remember the names of their toys for longer than we might think.

In the study, published in journal Biology Letters, the team of researchers, Shany Dror, Ádám Miklósi and Claudia Fugazza, wanted to learn more about dogs and long-term memory since little is known about it.

The researchers wanted to know if dogs can retain their associations of objects due to repeated use, or if they’re like us, humans, and are able to store associations in long-term memory.

Dog looking at toy
OksanaArtyuhova / Shutterstock.com

Results from the study found that some of the smartest of dogs, referred to as gifted word learner (GWL) dogs in the study, can retain object names, even if they haven’t seen the same object for two years.

Five GWL dogs (two females, and three males) participated in the study. And the study’s experiment started in December 2020 where the dogs were taught the names of 12 toys in 1 week.

The researchers let the dogs, along with their owners, play with the toys for a few months before storing the toys away for two years.

Two years later, the researchers brought the dogs out individually, showed them the toys, along with other objects familiar with the dogs, in the room. They then asked the dogs to retrieve the test toys by calling out the toy’s name.

After the test, the researchers found that the dogs were accurate in retrieving the toy specified 44% of the time, while some even had a 60% accuracy rate.

Dog with a toy in its mouth
Tatyana Vyc / Shutterstock.com

Dr Claudia Fugazza tells Country Living Magazine, “We know that dogs can remember events for at least 24 hours and odors for up to one year but this is the first study showing that some talented dogs can remember words for at least two years.”

“The findings of our current study cannot be generalised to other dogs because we only tested gifted word learners (GWL) dogs, individuals that show a special talent for acquiring object words.”

And while the research was only done on smart dogs, it’s still shows that the ability to store associations in long-term memory is not uniquely human.

Furthermore, this discovery can further help scientists learn how other species that aren’t human retain their memories in the long term.

“GWL dogs provide a unique opportunity to examine whether such correlations may also exist in a species that does not possess language,” the researchers concluded.

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‘Justice For Gunner’: Healthy, Missing Dog Gets Put Down By Shelter, Sparks Outrage

An animal shelter is sparking outrage online and across the country after putting down a healthy Golden Retriever shortly after it was brought in.

Criticisms and questions are pouring after Linda McNatt Animal Care & Adoption Center euthanized Gunner, a 13-year-old Golden Retriever who went missing on Tuesday, September 03.

John Gilcrease, Gunner’s owner, said in an almost 10-minute TikTok video telling the story, that when it was time to feed the dog on Tuesday night, the family couldn’t find him at the family’s 8-acre property.

@crazyrandomdad

#greenscreen #dog #texas #fyp Linda McNatt Denton Animal Shelter killed my dog! I want managers FIRED for destroying my family @Denton Texas #gunnerStory #justiceforgunner

♬ original sound – CrazyRandomDad

“At that point, I’m starting to freak out so I jump in my car and I drive around for nearly 5 hours, up until nearly 1 o’clock in the morning,” Gilcrease tells CNN.

Gilcrease said that he drove around for hours looking for Gunner, but his efforts were futile. However, the next day, a lady, named Deborah, reached out to him telling him that the pooch was at an animal shelter.

The information brought relief to Gilcrease and his family. He said, “I thought ‘he’s safe, they know we’re coming. He’s there, and everything should be good.’”

Gilcrease noted that when they went to pick Gunner up on Thursday, it was still within an animal shelter’s 72-hour hold on strays.

When he got there, the shelter told them that they found Gunner 12.2 miles away from home. However, Gilcrease noted that with Gunner’s age and his legs, there was no way he could’ve walked that far.

He added, “I know there was a fault in the story. I just couldn’t figure out what or where it was.”

The staff then took Gilcrease to the back of the shelter to look for Gunner. However, Gunner was nowhere to be found in any of the kennels.

Talking to CNN, Gilcrease said, “Like, ‘where’s my dog,’ and she took so long to answer that my rebuttal back to that was, ‘Did you kill my dog?’” said Gilcrease. “And she said, ‘Yes.’” 

In a statement, the shelter’s director admitted to putting down Gunner. They explained that Gunner “was geriatric, had severe mobility impairment, and no control over his bladder and bowels.”

“‘Your dog was old. He had arthritis. He can barely stand up. He pooped and peed himself.’ I said, ‘Because he’s scared,’” Gilcrease said.

Gilcrease said that the animal shelter returned Gunner in a plastic bag with no apology at all.

“My children are damaged. I’m damaged. I can’t stop crying. My wife can’t stop crying,” said Gilcrease.

In a statement issued by the City of Denton, they explained, “Gunner was unable to walk without assistance and had no control over his bowels or bladder. After a full veterinary evaluation, it was clear that he was in immense discomfort.”

“Our staff attempted to contact the individual listed on Gunner’s microchip, but the email addresses bounced back, and the phone numbers were disconnected,” they continued.

However, Gilcrease disputes the shelter’s claim that Gunner’s microchip information were outdated. He also reveals that he filed animal cruelty charges filed against the shelter’s staff for putting down their family’s dog.

The City of Denton also talked about their 72-hour stray hold period and how that was not applied to Gunner.

“While the hold period typically applies, there are exceptions, such as when an animal is suffering or has a poor quality of life, which allow staff to forgo the 72-hour requirement,” the City of Denton wrote. “Given Gunner’s degenerative condition and severe suffering, our staff acted within policy to humanely euthanize him.”

However, Gilcrease said, “The animal facilities and shelters should be a safe place for dogs, for lost and scared dogs to go to, so owners could find them in a 72-hour timeframe.

“And that’s a city ordinance. I have 72 hours, and within the first 24 hours, they killed my dog,” Gilcrease added.

New information released by Denton Record-Chronicle revealed that Gunner was found 2 miles away from home, and not 12 miles. Furthermore, the shelter staff didn’t consult with a veterinarian over whether to euthanize Gunner.

The animal shelter’s decision has sparked outrage. The shelter’s Facebook page posts are now filled with comments seeking justice for Gunner.

A Facebook user wrote, “saying goodbye to your pet is especially hard when shelter employees decide it’s time for them to die simply because they are old. Gunner had a loving family at home waiting for him!! SHAME ON YOU!”

While another wrote, “Gunner had a home. Guess arthritis is a death sentence? Justice for Gunner.”

Currently, there is a petition on Charge.org titled “Demand an Investigation into the Unfair Euthanisation Practices at Linda McNatt Animal Care & Adoption Center” that has now over 40,000 signatures.