Watch cute dog outsmart frustrated owner trying to get him out of cold Alabama rain

An Alabama man unintentionally became a hero to dog lovers around the world, after he posted video of his futile attempts to get his dog to come inside on a cold day.

The video, viewed more than 650,000 times since Wednesday on Facebook, shows Taylor Reed of Huntsville chasing his dog, Wilson, in circles around the yard like something out of an old Keystone Cops movie.

It’s clear Wilson, a husky and Australian Shepherd mix, was enjoying himself. Reed was not.

“To the neighbors who drive by and think I’m mean for leaving the dog outside in the freezing cold rain: Here’s proof- I tried to catch him to come take him inside!” Reed wrote when he posted the video on Facebook.

Reed said he shared the video in frustration, and did not see the humor in it.

“I have had the hardest time getting him (Wilson) to come inside now that it is getting cold. I tried food, treats, even trying to trick him to think we are going to the park,” Reed told McClatchy News.

“I did not want to leave him in the cold, but apparently he liked it. It was cold and wet with more rain coming. I have heard complaints of people leaving their dogs in the cold and I thought the neighbors would all think I was a mean dog parent.”

More than 20,000 people had reacted to the video as of Sunday, many of them saying they go through the same thing on a daily basis.

“I feel your pain,” Nichole Moore posted on his Facebook page.

“Next time play dead it may work i do it to mine and he always comes!” Lore Duarte Martinez posted.

“It’s like trying to catch a 2-year-old,” Edith Ortiz wrote.

Reed says he has had Wilson three years, since the dog was a pup, and part of the problem may be they just moved into a new home with the kind of fenced in yard dogs find irresistible. (Wilson’s eccentricities include a penchant for playing dead, Reed says.)

The growing reaction to the video has taken Reed off guard, including the many comments in foreign languages.

“I was shocked as my notifications have kept blowing up,” he said. “Everywhere I went, friends and family have been telling me they saw my video and how funny it is. I was just frustrated, cold and tired of chasing him... but I am glad other people had a laugh of it.”

This story was originally published November 27, 2020 at 7:38 PM with the headline "Watch cute dog outsmart frustrated owner trying to get him out of cold Alabama rain."