A Bernese mountain dog got more than she bargained for after jumping on a bean bag for what he hoped would be a peaceful and extremely comfortable nap.
In a video posted to TikTok by Gina Gorrell, who is based in the U.K., the pet pooch, Hera, can be seen excitedly hopping onto the bag while her sibling, Loki, who is lying out on the patio next to her, looks on.
Hera’s joy is short-lived though. A fraction of a second after jumping on the bag, she finds herself engulfs in its polystyrene foam filling, which covers the dog, as if she has become engulfed in a blanket of snow.
For a moment Hera stands frozen, evidently unable to compute what has just happened to her. She eventually comes to her senses though, clambering off what remains of the bean bag and its spilled contents before having a quick shake to get any remaining polystyrene pieces of her coat.
From there, Hera walks off across the garden, clearly hoping to style this one out and avoid any blame for the chaos left in her wake. You can watch the video here.
Unfortunately for Hera, Gorrell’s Ring security camera has captured the entire moment, including the reaction of her other dog Loki, who opts to remain as a passive bystander throughout the debacle.
“Loki clearly not getting involved in Hera’s antics,” Gorrell commented alongside the clip, which has been watched 4.4 million times on TikTok already.
There should be a degree of sympathy for Hera though, who was evidently looking forward to a nice nap, which is more important to dogs than most may realize. Though it’s primarily a form of rest, research suggests dogs might be doing more than just recharging when they sleep.
A 2017 study from the journal Scientific Reports found that dogs actually learn while they sleep. Researchers in Hungary trained 15 pet dogs to sit and lie down using English phrases rather than the native language they were already familiar with.
Small electrodes were then attached to the dogs’ heads to monitor brain activity while they slept. These Electroencephalograms revealed how short, repeated moments of “slow-wave” brain activity, often lasting no more than a few minutes, occurred during the dogs’ three-hour naps.
Within these readings, scientists identified short bursts of brain activity, lasting no more than five seconds, known as “sleep spindles,” which have been linked with learning, memory support, healthy aging and intelligence in both rats and humans.
Hera may have been denied a sweet napping spot on this occasion, but it’s likely that she was able to find another place to sleep soon after.
In the meantime, the internet has rallied around the hapless pooch in the wake of her viral success, with the video of her bean bag mishap generating thousands of comments from fans on TikTok.
“I think she’s as shocked as us,” one wrote, with another saying: “Oh no, please get her a new one.” A third commented: “I feel bad for the doggo. Doggo just wanted to chill on it,” with a fourth adding: “At least you have proof it really did just explode and she didn’t destroy it on purpose.”
TikTok/@gina.gorrell
Responding to that final comment, Gorrell said: “The funny thing was, someone commented the day before that it was going to happen she’s a sweetheart so definitely a complete accident. These things happen.”
She was also keen to allay any fears that Hera had been left without a cozy napping spot. “Don’t you worry,” Gorrell commented. “It’s been fixed and she’s now enjoying the bean bag again.”
Newsweek has reached out to Gorrell for comment.