A dog’s hilarious facial expression upon being awoken by her owner’s various alarms is proving hilarious and painfully relatable to people online.
They say you should never wake a sleeping dog and that certainly appears to be true of Minnie Penny, a New York-based rescue dog turned social media star.
In a video posted to Instagram under the handle minniepennyb, the Maltipoo can be seen looking stunned and seemingly far from happy at being rudely awoken by her owners. You can check out her hilarious reaction for yourself here.
According to an onscreen caption accompanying the footage, Minnie Penny is not impressed. “Waiting for my humans to turn off their next 6 alarms so I can go back to sleep while they work all day to provide for me,” the text reads. Writing alongside the video, Minnie Penny’s owner adds: “Sometimes I wish I was born a spoiled princess dog.”
Dogs certainly need a lot of sleep. Dr. Amy Stone, DVM and clinical associate professor at the University of Florida’s College of Veterinary Medicine previously told Newsweek: “Dogs should sleep anywhere from 10 to 14 hours during the day on average.”
These long hours of shut-eye are crucial to maintaining a dog’s well-being too. Catrin George, an animal well-being specialist at Animal Friends Pet Insurance said: “Our canine friends need this amount of sleep because it helps restore their immunity and repairs damaged cells in their bodies.”
Waking a dog from a deep sleep can cause problems though. This is especially true if the dog is enjoying REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. Waking them in those circumstances has been known to lead to instances of canines scratching or even biting involuntarily.
Dr. Mondrian Contreras, veterinarian at Carol Stream Animal Hospital, in Illinois, previously told Newsweek that this situation can be even worse if the dog involved is already dealing with a health issue.
“Medical conditions such as hearing loss, arthritis, and back injuries can cause dogs to be more reactive if abruptly startled awake,” he warned. “This intense reaction can result in them injuring themselves, or the sudden increased physical discomfort may cause them to instinctively snap or growl due to the flight-or-fight response.”
Denise LePetit Bresemann/Getty
Thankfully, there was no such drama with Minnie Penny, though her expression was a touch dramatic—much to the delight of those following her on Instagram.
One viewer urged Minnie Penny’s owner to “keep hitting that snooze mommy” while another came to the defense of the Maltese, writing: “It’s hard work being that adorable.”
A third commented: “Wish they’d get some silent one [alarm] because we like our beauty sleep uninterrupted.” A fourth user, who also happened to be a dog owner, added that their pet pooch has a different approach to the morning alarm.
“She wakes up with me when the alarm sounds,” the dog owner commented. “She goes back to sleep when I leave for work.” Others watching on, meanwhile, were very jealous of the snoozing dog. “Wish I could go back to bed. Enjoy your lazy day,” one viewer said.
Something tells us Minnie Penny will be doing exactly that.
Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to [email protected] with some details about your best friend, and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.