When our family dog gets upset at something, she has a number of responses to let the human world know it. Usually, she barks. Loudly and insistently, and for long periods of time. If she’s feeling really threatened, she’ll give a low growl that would probably be a lot more threatening if she weighed more than 10 pounds. If she’s really anxious, she’ll whine and whimper until the situation is resolved.
You know what she doesn’t do when she’s upset, though? She doesn’t start standing on her hind legs and walking around like a miniature human. Which brings us to the case of Jin Dan, a Pomeranian from China.
Jin Dan’s story has been going viral since it was reported on the English-language version of RocketNews 24, an Asian news site, four days ago. The story as reported goes this way: Jin Dan’s owner took him to the groomer who would shave him down in preparation for the hot summer months. On getting home, Jin Dan saw himself in the mirror and highly disapproved of his new look. He showed this disapproval by standing on his hind legs and walking like that for the next two days.
Or so we’re told.
Dogster’s editorial policy forbids me from using the flamboyant, crude, yet highly expressive Anglo-Saxon terms that would most accurately communicate what I think of this account of the pictures and video of Jin Dan. For discretion’s sake, let’s just say that there’s been way too much credulity in passing around this account.
Okay, yes, the pictures are cute. But really, getting cute pictures of a Pomeranian is no big deal. Pomeranians are designed to be cute. The idea that Jin Dan decided that walking around on two legs was a protest of some kind? Let’s just say that I’m not going to hire a Pomeranian to oversee my next political action.
But more importantly, in the pictures and the video, Jin Dan doesn’t really look like a dog to me. He looks like a teddy bear or a furry human with a dog head stuck on top. Two things are inescapable to me: First, he’s standing much more upright than a quadruped should be. Dogs and other animals who walk on all fours have hips that are at an angle to their spine, instead of in a straight line like with us bipeds. That’s why your dog wobbles and ultimately falls back to all fours after a few seconds on hind legs. Second, his forepaws are hanging by his side, just like human arms. Adorable, but not a really easy thing for a dog to do.
So, I call Photoshop on the remarkable story of Jin Dan, but even so, I have to admit, he does look pretty stylish in some of those clothes, even if he is flaunting some of his assets a little too obviously.
Via RocketNews 24
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