Pet Owner Forced To Take Drastic Action Over Dog 'Refusing To Come Inside'

A pet owner running late for work was forced to take drastic action after their dog staged a sit-down protest while out in the yard.

Lissette, a dog owner from California, loves Bella, her soon to be 2-year-old Labrador mix, but she knows she can be difficult at times. "We've had her since she was a puppy and she loves challenging me every day," Lissette told Newsweek.

Americans generally have a pretty high opinion of their pet's intelligence. A survey of 2,000 U.S. pet owners conducted by SWNS found 61 percent of respondents considered their four-legged friend to be smarter than the average human being.

Bella certainly knows how to push her owner's buttons. While that might be a sign of intelligence, it's a source of frustration to Lissette, who has to deal with her dog's tantrums on a regular basis.

Bella the dog refused to go inside.
Bella the dog refused to go inside. Her owner was forced to take drastic action. Liz98453

On this particular occasion, Bella decided she wasn't playing ball at possibly the worst time imaginable. "She has a habit of not wanting to come back inside after doing her business," Lissette said. "I was trying to get ready and she was ringing her bell."

Bella has been trained to ring a bell in the house to let Lissette know when she needs to go outside to use the bathroom. This was where the problems began. "I rushed with her outside and I immediately realized that I forgot to bring her treat bag to get her to come back inside," she said. "She did her business and then threw herself on the grass and refused to come back inside."

What followed was a tense stand-off between dog and pet owner. With time ticking on and Lissette already running late, she decided enough was enough. "She was laying there for a couple of mins until I decided to do what you saw on that video," she said.

In the clip, which was later posted to TikTok under the handle liz98413, Lissette can be seen struggling to carry Bella inside so she can get to work in time. Bella, however, is doing her best not to comply, with the resulting scene playing out with her in the role of canine protester being forcibly removed.

Though it was stressful at the time, Lissette was eventually able to see the funny side. "I checked my security camera later that day and was laughing at how silly we both looked," she said.

The clip, which was posted alongside a caption explaining the situation, generated a similar response on TikTok, where it has already been watched 3 million times. "Things like this always happen when you have somewhere important to be," one user wrote. "Mine does the same. Just plop down and lay there knowing I'll have to pick her," a second TikToker commented, with a third adding: "I swear they can sense when you have to be somewhere. Cause they will for sure dilly dally in the yard."

Lissette can at least take comfort from the fact she's not alone in experiencing this kind of canine behavior. It's still frustrating though.

"She does it only with me," she said. "When we go to the park and she's refusing to leave or when we're out on walks and doesn't feel like walking anymore. In this video, it didn't record when I told her 'Dad is here,' Dad referring to my husband. She got up quick and looked for him inside."

Though Lissette found it frustrating at the time, she can't stay mad at Bella. "She's just too darn cute," she said.

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.

About the writer


Jack Beresford is a Newsweek Senior Internet Culture & Trends Reporter, based in London, UK. His focus is reporting on ... Read more

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