Every dog daycare has one. The dog who knows which gate latch is loose and which human looks away at pickup time. At Hound Social Club, that dog is Chloe, and her technique is almost insultingly simple.
Chloe is a hound, so her nose usually arrives a few seconds before the rest of her. The staff in this Dodo video say she zoned in on the gate and knew the lock was not on it. That long hound nose went under the bar, she lifted, and the gate opened. Then she did the thing that turns a troublemaker into a folk hero. She went back for her friends.
One staff member sums up the mood as, “Let’s go. There’s Chick-fil-A. Let’s go,” which is the most honest description of hound motivation I have heard all year. Chloe has also been known to spring dogs from timeout. She was voted prom queen at the daycare’s dog prom, so the record and the popularity appear to be connected.
The best part is how the staff handle it. Somebody scoops her up mid-escape and carries her back to class, the way you carry a toddler who has strong opinions about bedtime. Nobody is angry. She is family, and family tests the gate now and then.
Video by The Dodo. Chloe and the Hound Social Club crew are theirs. I am only here for the getaway.
If you live with a nose like that, the slow sniff walk is worth a read, because ten minutes of standing still is not wasted time. And if your dog treats every barrier as a puzzle with an obvious shortcut, you will recognize the dog who found the fastest way into a piñata.