Dog Who Retired From Military Enjoys His First Pup Cup

Jul 25, 2023

A video of a newly retired military working dog celebrating the end of its service with a pup cup at Starbucks has gone viral on TikTok, where it has received 1.1 million views at the time of writing.

The clip was shared by user @mwdrex_and_rider, the TikTok account of retired military working dog duo Rex and Rider. The video showed a man placing a collar labeled Rider on a German shepherd as a message overlaid on the video read: "You served 5 years in the military, just got retired this week and get your first pupcup at starbs [Starbucks]."

The viral video showed Rider (who is 6 years old, according to a later comment from the original post) being taken to a drive-thru window where he was handed whipped cream served in an espresso-sized paper coffee cup. He was later seen indulging in the treat.

A caption shared with the post read: "It's safe to say retired life has been treating Rider very well."

In a later video posted from the same account, a woman explained that military dogs stay on the military base, as opposed to going home with their handler. They typically only come off base if they're getting medical treatment or they're on some type of "mission" with their handler.

So they "don't normally get treats like that [the Starbucks pup cup]," she said, while military dogs get "certain rewards" during their training "at their handler's discretion."

In a comment in the later video, the poster said that Rider doesn't really "play" yet and is still adjusting to "house life." He "likes to chill in his grate or he's glued to his dad," the poster said.

Rider enjoyed a well-deserved sweet dessert at the end of a long-time military career, but dogs should only be given treats in moderation.

In an article for VCA, one of North America's largest animal hospital chains, veterinarians Krista Williams and Robin Downing warned that having too many will disrupt your pup's appetite for regular food.

"This can contribute to a nutritional imbalance in the long term, and can turn him into a 'fussy eater,' making it particularly challenging to use therapeutic nutrition should the need arise later in life to manage a disease nutritionally," the veterinarians said.

Its safe to say retired life has been treating Rider very well 😂❤️ #mwdretiredlife #retiredmwd #mwd #militaryworkingdog #gsd #mal #veteran #military #starbs #starbucks #pupcup #k9 #dog #dogsoftiktok #fyp #foryoupage #rider

Williams and Downing said dog treats should never make up more than 10 percent of a dog's energy/calorie intake, and keeping it at five percent is even better. This is because dog treats are not balanced and nutritionally complete, unlike commercially prepared dog foods.

The veterinarians warned: "Do not be fooled by treats that are labeled 'light' or 'lower calorie.' These are not significantly lower in calorie than other treats and they do add extra calories to a dog's daily intake."

Excessive treats can also raise your dog's risk of becoming overweight and obese. Both conditions "are now afflicting family dogs at epidemic rates," the veterinarians said.

Several users on TikTok were delighted by the German shepherd in the latest viral video.

User @pagelynn6 wrote: "The instant addiction," while Jamie said "Give that baby alllll the pupcups!"

User bellabell0406 agreed, saying "He deserves all the pupcups in the world."

Shellie noted "His eyes when he gets it!!!," and jasmine anderson simply said: "The eyes," to which the original poster said "He's realizing that civilian life involves lots of treats."

54xImmortals wrote "we salute you puppers," while priscilla gonzales said "Thank you for your service."

Newsweek has contacted the original poster for comment via TikTok. This video has not been independently verified.

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