Bystanders Left Bemused as Man Shouts Missing Dog’s Unfortunate Name in Public

When we welcome a new pet into our family and carefully consider their new name, we don’t always make the best decisions.

There is an old anecdote about an older woman naming her cat “Whoopie” after the actress Whoopie Goldberg and only realised the error of her ways when she had to stand on her front steps after dark and call its name to come inside for the night. Poor old dear must have sounded like the cheese had slid off her cracker.

Similarly, this story is of a man who desperately called out to his dog in a public space filled with picnickers and onlookers, only to realise that he looked quite mad in the process.

Sharing his story on Reddit, the man said: “Currently holidaying in the Lake District. We were on a cycle trail along a river which goes over a number of bridges. Beautiful day, the scenery is amazing.

“We come to an area where you can go down to the water. Really idyllic. I’m with in-laws and brother-in-law’s family, we have four dogs between us.

“My dog, River, heads off downstream, obviously has a scent of something. After a few minutes, you can barely see her in the distance. She’s not coming to the whistle, so I go and stand on a prominent rock, and start shouting her name.

“For a solid minute and in multiple tones, I loudly bellow ‘RIVER! RIVERRR! RIVERRR!’

“There are people on the bridge above, there are families around me having picnics. My family are laughing at me on the bank and I have no idea why.

“It was only after she’d returned finally that they were like ‘you’re just shouting River at the river and none of these people know why’. I have been laughing on and off since.”

Oh my gosh, that is totally something I would do.

And have done! One night, quite late, my little dog Piper ran off down the street while one of my friends was leaving my newly-moved-into house. I took off after her, calling her name loudly. Finally, I cornered her in one of my neighbour’s driveways and grabbed her and brought her home. It was only months later that I discovered, to my absolute horror, that the neighbour’s surname was also Piper. And there I was calling their names in their driveway at one in the morning!

So embarrassing!

Source: Reddit and Tenor