Laughter as Grumpy Senior Pug Stages 'Protest' Over Owner's Actions

A senior pug staged his very own mini-protest after being left downstairs by his owner.

In a video posted to TikTok under the handle thurmondgrumble, a 15-year-old pug by the name of Fulmer can be seen and heard expressing his frustration at this turn of events.

Fulmer may be a senior pup but he's evidently still not averse to having the kind of tantrum you would associate with a younger dog. The unusual sound of Fulmer's barks only adds to the hilarity of it all and might go some way to explaining why the clip has proven so popular.

At the time of writing, it's been watched close to 580,000 times, with viewers chipping in on the comments section to have their say on what they think Fulmer sounds like. Watch it here.

Though Fulmer may be being a touch dramatic, the footage suggests he may be suffering from an extremely acute case of separation anxiety. He may only have ended up being separated from his owner for a few minutes, but that was enough to prompt him to start howling.

According to his owner's TikTok bio, Fulmer lives alongside two other pugs, Bella and Maggie. It's often assumed that getting a second dog helps stave off a canine's feelings of loneliness or separation anxiety when their owner leaves the house.

However, research published in the journal Applied Animal Behavior Science back in 2021 suggests the opposite. Researchers filmed 32 dogs in single-dog and 45 dogs in multi-dog households while they were home alone. They found that barking was more common in the multi-dog households than it was the single-dog ones while physical activity was also increased.

Barking is often considered to be an indicator of separation anxiety, as is physical activity, which has been found to lead to destructive behavior. Would Fulmer be less anxious if he was not an only dog? It's difficult to know for sure, but if he was, then the internet would be robbed of the dulcet tones of his unique bark/wine.

It's a sound that had TikTok's dog-loving community in hysterics. "Sounds like a cow bellowing," one user commented with another describing it as the "sonorous war cry of a very angry frog." A third joked "the siren's going off! everyone take cover!" while a fourth likened it to a "tornado siren."

While Fulmer did come in for plenty of ribbing, there was a degree of sympathy for the forlorn pup and his lonesome plight. "Fetch this baby," one viewer ordered with another commenting: "cuddle that poor baby right now." A third, meanwhile, wrote: "Red alert! If he is anything like my senior pugs, you have a stage 4 clinger. alone is NOT acceptable."

Elsewhere, one user admitted: "I gotta pick my pug up for every tiny thing. Getting on and off the bed, when he's to tired to keep walking." Another added: "I have a senior pug and i genuinely have never not seen one who's also as funny and dramatic as her they are truly the prize."

Newsweek has contacted thurmondgrumble for comment on TikTok.