A golden retriever in training to be a service dog knew she wasn’t allowed to jump on her owners, so she did the next best thing.
Asa, the 5-month-old puppy, lives in Washington with her owner, Dakota Reynolds, and is working toward becoming his hearing and medical alert service dog.
Reynolds, 27, who is deaf and has connective tissue disease and epilepsy, often shares updates on living with disabilities online, and his @discovering.dakota TikTok account has amassed a large following.
But one clip in particular—starring Reynold’s wife, Samantha, playing with their pup—has received a lot of attention, garnering more than 5 million views and 700,000 likes.
“I posted the video thinking it was cute and funny but had no idea that so many people would think so as well,” Reynolds told Newsweek.
The video showed Asa, who had been trained to never jump on people, getting a case of the zoomies—a term that describes when dogs become suddenly overexcited and need to run and jump to get the energy out.
In the clip, Asa runs, jumps, spins in a circle and jumps again. But rather than jump on Samantha, she leaps as close as possible to her without ever touching her.
Photos of Dakota Reynolds and Asa, a service dog in training who knows not to jump on people. When she got a case of the zoomies, she got as close as possible.
TikTok @discovering.dakota
“My service dog in training knows she isn’t allowed to jump on us, so she jumps next to us when she gets the zoomies,” Reynolds wrote on the video, adding in the caption, “I love her so much.”
TikTok users felt the same, with hundreds commenting on the clip to praise Asa’s training. “Loophole discovered,” one viewer wrote.
“The respectful zoomies,” another added, while one user said, “Wow the amount of not jumping on you she’s doing is SO much! Good job!”
“I have decided to become her biggest fan,” another commented.
Reynolds, who also posts clips of Asa on his Instagram account @thewoofpack.3, told Newsweek his TikTok page usually “focuses on my journey through my life-limiting illness and organ failure.”
The 5-month-old golden retriever is learning the ropes to help assist Reynolds with day-to-day life. TikTok users fell in love with her holding back her jumps.
TikTok @discovering.dakota
“The video was just something that brightened my day, so I wanted others to see it as well,” he added.
“My wife had no idea it would go viral as well,” Reynolds continued, “and told me that she wishes she had put on a nicer outfit, had she known it would blow up.”
There are many types of service dogs, which are trained to help with a particular disability or impairment—including guide dogs, hearing dogs, allergy detection dogs and psychiatric service dogs, according to Purina, a pet-food company.
Hearing dogs can help alert their owners to a noise, such as a smoke alarm or the doorbell, and lead them toward an important sound or away from potential danger.
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.
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