Owner’s Heart Breaks As They Check CCTV To See Dog Sitting Alone at Daycare

Hearts have broken for a dog caught on camera at doggy daycare sitting alone in the corner.

Snoopy the dachshund is seven years old and lives in Texas with owner Angelica. He has captured hearts online after footage of him all alone at daycare was shared on TikTok.

With 380,000 views, the video of a group of dogs at a daycare showed how Snoopy, a rescue dog, wasn’t playing with the other dogs, instead sitting alone in the corner.

Doggy daycare, also known as dog daycare, functions much like a kindergarten for children. Offering daytime care and socialization for dogs, it is a popular option for pet owners who have busy schedules or work long hours.

The market for dog daycare has grown significantly in recent years. The U.S. pet daycare market was valued at $1.12 billion in 2021 and is expected to expand at an annual growth rate of 6.8 percent to 2030.

Dog daycare isn’t just a good idea for having your pet cared for while you’re busy; it’s also a brilliant tool for pet socialization, allowing pets time to interact and play with other dogs, which is beneficial for their mental and emotional well-being.

But for Snoopy, his first day didn’t go as his owner had hoped. When she tuned into the daycare’s live stream of the space, she was heartbroken to see that her dog was sitting alone.

“Safe to say we never went back,” Angelica wrote in the caption alongside the video on TikTok.

In hundreds of comments, people shared their reaction at seeing the rescue dachshund sitting alone among all the playing pups.

“If I saw this I would have stopped whatever I was doing to take back my dog,” wrote TikToker NdczDS, and the dog’s owner added: “I literally did, it was a FAMILY EMERGENCY.”

“Oh my heart hurts,” said Shan, while Paloma wrote: “I would just have to cry myself to sleep.”

“We rescued Snoopy when he was 5 years old, and can definitely say he prefers human interactions. He can be a bit awkward and unsure on how to interact with other dogs,” owner Angelica told Newsweek.

“Snoopy had been to other daycares, which he usually gets great feedback from. This was our first experience with a doggy day care with CCTV, so it made me really sad to think about all the other times my pup was apart.”

But Snoopy isn’t the only one to struggle at a new daycare. Last week, Bernedoodle Rufus was trying out a new daycare when his owner pulled up the live camera to find her pup sitting alone in the corner too. Thankfully though, after a few hours Rufus was seen running around with a case of the zoomies and the shyness already disappearing as he settled into daycare.

After the day they saw Snoopy on the daycare camera, they decided not to take him back.

“We realized he doesn’t mind spending time alone, so staying at home works best for us,” Angelica said.

Despite what looks like a heartbreaking moment, though, viewers who work at dog daycare centers put minds at ease.

“As someone who works in a daycare I can say some dogs just prefer being alone,” said Natalie. While Nayzee wrote: “Dogs do this at my daycare I manage at. Perfectly normal, it’s just what they prefer, just like people. We call these puppies wallflowers.”

Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to [email protected] with some details about your best friend and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.

Update 10/16/23, 9:30 a.m. ET: This story was updated with additional information from the dog’s owner.