Experts suspect that a man with a fake dog train is pursuing the rescue for fame

It is easy to get caught up in fame on social media. Lots of people are obsessed with getting followers and viewers on sites like Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. But the effort some people go to to get recognized can be a bit extreme.

A TikTok user received repeated praise in a heartbreaking video for rescuing a dog tied to a railroad track. However, experts later revealed that the video was likely faked out of fame. Many people were worried about the dog’s life, although initially no dog was in danger. Performing such a stunt wasn’t an easy process either.

An emotional video

The video shows a man who is sprinting down the railroad tracks with a train right behind him. Below is a small dog tied to the track. The dog looks like a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel.

The man quickly unties the dog and then runs off the tracks with the puppy right next to him. Just seconds before the train rushes by, they jump off the tracks. During this commotion the train honks and the people in the background urge the man not to do it.

After this 16 second video was first posted, people started calling the man a legend. It was an impressive and risky stunt that he pulled, and it was certainly very believable. However, several people in the comments mentioned that something was wrong with the video.

Then the video was later removed from the TikTok user’s account. It violated the website’s “Community Guidelines for Dangerous Activities”. Still, the video continues to appear on other accounts, making more and more people skeptical.

Signs that it is fake

Video experts examined the post carefully and concluded that it was likely a fake. Not only was the event not mentioned in any news reports, the dog doesn’t appear to be in distress either. When the dog sees the man in the video, they walk up to him and wag their tail as if they know him.

“The way the dog reacts like he knows the guy and that (the guy) knows how to untie the leash like it was planned,” said Sarah Ross of Four Paws International. “Looks suspicious.”

Experts therefore suspect that the user first filmed himself while rescuing the dog and then cut it on the train. A few small details point to this explanation. First of all, the train’s shadows are a bit off. When it passes the man and dog, the man still has a little shadow under him despite the shadow. At one point the shadows are also blurred to indicate that two scenes were edited together.

While the video seems impressive at first, the man receives a lot of praise for something he likely didn’t do. A dog abandoned on train tracks is a serious problem and should not be taken lightly or joked about. It’s amazing what people do for some extra social media followers.

Watch the video here:

H / T: toofab.com
Featured image: YouTube