Move over rearview camera: There’s a new “technology” in town. In early June 2021, a video of what appeared to show a golden retriever helping a car driver back into a tight parking spot went viral and had many social media users goo-goo-eyed over the adorable footage.
“This barking sensor shows the future of driving technology,” a host for the video jokes as a golden retriever sits on its hind legs and appears to wave on a car as it reverses into a tight parking spot. As the car approaches the edge of the space — and approaches the dog in the video — the pup barks as if to warn the car is approaching too closely.
The video was shared on Facebook on June 4 by Woof Woof TV, a self-described” community of over 9 million dog lovers from across the globe.” As its name might suggest, the website shares viral and trending content related to dogs. As of this writing, the video has gained hundreds of thousands of views across the website’s social media channels.
And as Snopes has previously reported, dog lovers have a propensity for anthropomorphizing, or giving human attributes to, their furry family members. What remains to be determined in the video is whether the pup had indeed been trained to help its owners back into a parking spot. Snopes contacted Woof Woof TV for further information about the video but did not hear back at the time of publication. We will update the article accordingly if we hear back.