Pit Bull Trying to Shoplift at PetSmart Leaves Internet in Hysterics: 'Run'

A dog called Nala has left the internet in stitches after a video of her "stealing" a stuffed animal toy from a pet shop went viral on social media earlier this week.

In the video, shared on TikTok on Monday by Nala's owner, under the username Thisisnalasworld, the pit bull can be seen walking out of the shop with a pink and blue giraffe-shaped toy in her mouth, refusing to let go of it as her owner calls her out for "shoplifting."

The hilarious clip comes with a caption that says: "My dog's a shoplifter. She still doesn't understand you have to pay for the toys. We took Nala to PetSmart today to pick out a toy."

dog stealing toy melts hearts
A file photo of a pit bull holding a stuffed toy. A dog called Nala has gone viral for "stealing" at toy at a pet shop. Getty Images

While dogs may not understand the concept of stealing, it doesn't mean that they aren't smart creatures. In fact, according to the American Psychology Association, they are really quite smart.

Its research shows that dogs' mental abilities are actually close to those of a child aged between 2 and 2 1/2. It also claimed the intelligence of various types of dogs differs, often according to breed.

As far as their knowledge of human language goes, the average dog is able to learn to understand about 165 words, including signals, and the so-called "super dogs," those in the top 20 percent of dog intelligence, can learn up to 250 words.

Furthermore, dogs can also count up to four or five, and have a basic understanding of arithmetic, which allows them to notice errors in simple computations, such as 1+1=1 or 1+1=3.

The video quickly went viral on social media, attracting animal lovers from across the platform. It has so far received over 214,700 views and 20,700 likes.

One user, Jeremy Ruether, commented: "I'm a security officer this is one theft I'll look past." And shenitaschwinof said: "Nala said it's OK put it on KARENS BILL....LMAO." Shadowgingin added: "Happy and proud with her new toy lol."

HannahJD wrote: "She is just a baby." And DemonQueenn_ said: "The slowly start to walk faster like mom we got to go before the cops come." Deanokathy joked: " It's like run Mom run."

Another user, Amanda Miles, commented: "She said and what are they going to do about it." And Erica added: "I bought the elephant that looks just like this toy and my friend's dog will not stop carrying it around! She took it out of the bag before I could."

Newsweek reached out to Thisisnalasworld for comment via email. We couldn't verify the details of the case.

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.

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.

About the writer


Maria Azzurra Volpe is a Newsweek Lifestyle Reporter based in London. Her focus is reporting on lifestyle and trends-related stories, ... Read more

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