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Woman Gets Message From Dog Walker—Realizes It Wasn't Meant for Her

Woman Gets Message From Dog Walker—Realizes It Wasn't Meant for Her

Newsweek09-06-2025
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
A dog walker was left red-faced after accidentally sending a text meant for her best friend to the pup's owner instead. Her reaction has delighted social media users.
In a viral Reddit post shared on Thursday under the username u/camlaw63, the poster, who has asked to remain anonymous, explained that the walker was commenting on her choice of collar for the pup with her friend, when she accidentally texted her, without even realizing her mistake.
"My new dog walker was texting about me behind my back, I didn't mind," she writes in the caption, as she shares the text she received from the walker, with a picture of her pup, 13-years-old Monty, attached to it.
"Buddy is very proud of his pride collar! The mom rotates collar monthly, and when I complimented June, she goes 'ugh it really should be a pride collar,' so today I complimented his pride collar, she goes 'thanks it's embarrassing that he hasn't had one before this, we have a flag at the office downstairs!'
"Haven't established her orientation but she comes off as an enthusiastic ally lol."
A screenshot of the message the walker accidentally sent the dog's owner.
A screenshot of the message the walker accidentally sent the dog's owner.
u/camlaw63
The poster told Newsweek that she switches her pup's collars monthly to represent what's going on each month, a snowflake in January, hearts in February, Christmas in December, and so on.
"I had originally put his June collar on which had petunias on it. When my dog walker complemented the collar earlier this week, it clicked in my mind that I should have a Pride collar for June, and was a little bummed that I didn't have one," she said.
"I have many friends and family in the LBGTQ+ community, But honestly, it didn't occur to me that I'd be able to find a pride dog collar. I did find one on Amazon and was able to purchase it fairly quickly, and when my Dog Walker came in to take Monty for his walk on Wednesday, she complimented him on it."
The mistake made by the walker left her "mortified," according to the post, but the dog owner wasn't bothered by it at all.
"I appreciated the fact that she was conveying her belief that I am an enthusiastic ally, and that it was meaningful to her because she is a member of the queer community," she said.
"She was obviously embarrassed that she had sent the text to the wrong person, I assured her that it touched me and that I was most certainly and an enthusiastic ally of the LBGTQ+community, in addition to other marginalized groups, despite being a white, cis woman."
About 40 percent of Americans admit to not walking their dogs regularly, which besides physical struggles, can also cause behavioral issues. To avoid these issues, many owners who don't have time to take their pups out hire walkers.
The U.S. dog walking industry had a market revenue of $1.3 billion in 2023, up from $980 million in 2020.
While specific needs vary by size and breed, most dogs need a minimum of 20 to 30 minutes of exercise per day, to avoid developing health issues, like obesity, which in pets is associated with cardiovascular disease, liver disease, osteoarthritis, and insulin resistance.
The video quickly went viral on Reddit and it has so far received over 10,000 upvotes and 106 comments on the platform.
One user, Timendainum, commented: "My wife puts a different bow tie on our male dog each month. He has a pride bow tie for June."
Ninjaclumso_x said: "Accidental Text ...on purpose."
Hungry-Breadfruit-61 added: "I'm a pet sitter and I'd have crawled into a hole and never come out if this happened to me lol."
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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