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By Melissa Fleur Afshar
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A dachshund in the Netherlands has become an unlikely internet sensation after a viral video revealed her secret raspberry-stealing exploits to thousands of viewers online.
The sausage dog, named Pesto, was captured picking and eating ripe raspberries directly from a backyard bush in his garden. The TikTok clip, overlaid with the text "My parents: 'We don't understand why there aren't any ripe raspberries in the garden?' My dog in the meantime," has since racked up more than 506,000 views and over 60,000 likes since it was shared to the platform on June 26, with commenters left in hysterics by the dog's harvest.
The 11-second video, captioned "the raspberry bandit strikes again," resonated with thousands of pet owners online who recognized similar antics in their own animals. Pesto's owners, Daan and Marijn, told Newsweek that the viral moment was not part of any plan.
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"We share our home in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, with our very opinionated housemate: our dachshund named Pesto," they said. "And, believe us, the name suits her perfectly.
"She is small, spicy, and absolutely essential to our lives," the owners added.
Pesto, they said, is a classic dachshund—clever, sweet and "just a bit too stubborn for her own good."
"We love her to bits, although we often find ourselves watching in mild disbelief as she runs our household like she is in charge," they added, "which, to be fair, she kind of is."
The raspberry mystery began unfolding at the home of Marijn's parents, where Pesto often visits; according to her owners, she "transforms into a miniature Indiana Jones" by roaming through their garden for hours. Indeed, her favorite escape during those stays is the large family garden, which grows flowers, bushes, and raspberry plants.
"This year, her grandparents were puzzled as to why their raspberry bushes were producing so little fruit," the couple said. "They blamed it on their autumn garden project.
"'Maybe we were too rough when we moved the bushes,' they said."
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It was not until the couple reviewed footage of Pesto in action that the truth came out.
"What they had not realized was that the raspberry bushes were not the issue," Daan and Marijn said. "The raspberries were growing, but they kept mysteriously disappearing.
"Or rather, they were being secretly snacked on by one small, four-legged thief."
Viewers on TikTok were able to see Pesto inspecting the bush and delicately selecting the ripest berries with her mouth.
"It turns out the real culprit was not the soil, the weather, or poor planning," Daan and Marijn said. "It was Pesto, raspberry enthusiast and full-time garden picker."
The couple said they post lighthearted videos of their dog online simply to share moments of joy and did not expect the clip to go viral.
"We are thrilled that so many people are enjoying the video and recognizing their own four-legged friend in it," they said. "We make these videos simply to share funny moments, not with the goal of going viral.
"That it actually went viral is such a fun surprise, and we just hope it brings a smile to everyone's face."
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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