Every dog has its day — and this one used his to go for a swim.
A golden retriever in New Jersey named Zeppole has captured the hearts of millions after becoming known as “your favorite pool trespasser” on TikTok. In a clip uploaded to the social networking site, the cute canine found a creative way to cool down this summer.
On Aug. 4, Zeppole’s human, a TikTok user who goes by errieting, uploaded a video of the pooch “escaping into the neighbors pool.” The footage showed the doggo being watched as he used his owner’s overturned canoes as stepping stools to hop the fence. After the video cut to the next scene, Zeppole found himself in the water as his owner was heard off-camera softly saying, “Let’s go, come on.”
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The orders were no match for Zeppole, who had his heart set on swimming. Once his owner got closer to him, he playfully turned away, leaped from the pool’s steps and landed further into the water.
Since the early August upload, the footage has already amassed more than 43,000 comments and five million likes. “I’m sorry but I’m loving the Golden retriever’s defiant swimming videos ??,” a viewer named Tenacious P said of the determined dog’s infamous hobby.
Another person wrote, “I swear I spend more time retrieving my golden retriever from places he’s not allowed to go than he does retrieving anything!” The comment caught the eye of Zeppole’s owner, who agreed and responded, “story of my life ???”
@errieting escaping into the neighbors pool #dog #goldenretriever #fyp #michaelphelps ♬ original sound – errieting
Zeppole’s loyal fans loved watching his videos so much that days later they were blessed with a follow-up. “THE NEIGHBOR’S POV… you asked, we listened,” a video shared by errieting on Aug. 11 announced. This time around, the golden retriever’s followers were able to get in on the action from the pool owner’s point of view.
The New Jersey neighbor was filming simultaneously with Zeppole’s owner, but aside from a different viewpoint, the follow-up video contained a fun voiceover with Zeppole in mind. “That woman is in the shower outside, so the time is now,” the neighbor narrated using a cartoon voice to describe the moment the pup decided to beat the summer heat.
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After looking back to make sure the coast was clear, Zeppole hopped the gate. The narrator warned that the pooch could hurt himself because being cute doesn’t make him invincible. “Remember folks, the first rule of trespassing — you must act natural! There’s nothing to see here humans, just doing some light landscaping. You’re welcome!” the voiceover continued as the dog chewed on some vegetation before making his way to the pool. “omg he’s eating their plants too ?” an observant commenter wrote on TikTok.
The POV clip also showed Zeppole enjoying his dog day of summer as he chased his tail while swimming in circles. Next, the dog dunked his head underwater briefly before casually swimming over to the cameraman. “I just want to be a merman in peace,” the fictional voice of Zeppole admitted as the adventurous canine went back in for a dip.Meet the Finalists for PEOPLE’s World’s Cutest
“I bet they don’t have to be told they’re constantly overstaying their welcome. They can just swim wild. They can just swim free,” the narration continued, referring to merpeople. As fans watched the saga unfold, some had a few questions about the ongoing pool dips. “So the neighbors don’t mind!!?? That’s amazing,” a TikTok user who goes by peoplestinkbycarissa asked.
Luckily, according to errieting, everything is all good in their neighborhood. “They are so kind and don’t mind! they have two yellow labs,” Zeppole’s owner replied.