Woman Shares Tip to Stop Your Dog Being Stolen by Dyeing Them Bright Colors

A dog owner has lifted the lid on why she dyes her labrador's tail - and once pet owners find out the reasons behind it, they are probably going to want to do it too.

Rosie the Service Dog is something of a celebrity on TikTok with over 30 million likes and 1.4 million followers to her name.

Posting videos under the handle Rosie.the.sd, fans regularly flock to see updates on her day-to-day life as a service dog, helping her owner Claire with important everyday tasks.

One thing that is especially noticeable about Rosie is her rainbow-colored tail, which makes her distinguishable from most other dogs of her breed.

Now her owner has decided to offer up an explanation behind her colorful dye-job in a post that has already been viewed more than 7 million times on TikTok.

The clip can be watched here.

In the video, Claire explains that Rosie's dye job is "to keep her from being stepped on or stolen."

"Dyed dogs have a much less chance of being targeted by dog thieves since they have such a strong identifiable feature to them," she says in the clip, which chronicles the dying process.

"It's much easier giving the description 'she's a golden with a rainbow tail' than just 'she's a golden' because there are thousands upon thousands of goldens that look just like her."

According to Canine Journal, an estimated 2 million dogs are stolen from their owners each year, with just 10 percent of those animals eventually recovered.

Labrador retrievers also ranked among the top 10 most stolen breeds, with dogs of this kind fetching as much as $2,000 when sold on.

Claire also notes on the video that "Service dogs are also one of the most sought out dogs to steal because of how well trained they are."

She added that microchipping a dog would do little to prevent theft of this kind since they are not visible while any physical identification such as tags would also be ripped away by thieves.

Though some may have their reservations, Claire told viewers Rosie "did not care" about having her tail dyed and was "not stressed" all and actually slept through the process.

She said that she used a pet-safe dye made specifically for animals and chose a vibrant rainbow design because it was "fun."

Commenting on the video, one TikTok user posting under the name freshatrick, praised the clip, commenting: "I never understood why people dyed their pets but your explanation definitely makes sense and is pretty smart."

Jo_Fischer also endorsed the video, writing: "Someone literally tried to rip my service dog's leash out of my hand one time and steal him in public. No one even helped me. This is smart!"

Julia Bergamini added: "A microchip isn't enough: a microchip doesn't help until the dog is stolen. This prevents it from being stolen in the first place."

Newsweek has contacted Rosie and Claire for comment.

The effectiveness of service dogs was recently showcased in the story of one heroic dog who came to the rescue of an Illinois man after he suffered a heart attack.

Golden retrievers also remain a constant source of entertainment on social media, as this hapless hound who was caught trying to steal his owner's food demonstrates.