Dog's Expression After Failing Doggy Daycare Interview: 'Problem Child'

This dog owner may regret trying to enter her Chihuahua into an elite daycare center, but the dog, on the contrary, looked incredibly proud of herself after failing her interview.

After taking a new job that requires some traveling, Hope Brizzi from Pensacola, Florida, needed to find a daycare for her pooch Nola. She knew it wasn't going to be easy though, as she told Newsweek that Nola is "full of sass and thinks she's the queen wherever she goes."

The local doggy daycare center is "a little more elite and expensive," according to Brizzi. Dogs have to pass an interview before they get accepted.

Brizzi explained to Newsweek: "They're the only ones who require an interview beforehand to get approved. During the interview, they make the [owners] sit in the waiting room while they take your dogs and do their interview, which is like temperament testing."

Dog's Pride After Failing Daycare Interview
Nola after failing her daycare interview. The sassy Chihuahua was pictured looking proud of herself after she failed to be accepted by the elite daycare. Hope Brizzi

"I knew that Nola was going to be my problem child. When we first got to the daycare, she refused to walk through the door and I had to coax her in. I was just thinking, 'Please be on your best behavior,'" Brizzi said.

Recent years have seen a growing demand for pet care services as owners want only the best for their pets. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, between 2007 and 2017, the sales of pet care services doubled to $5.8 billion.

To keep up with this boom in demand, the pet care services industry has seen many new companies open to meet the needs of pet owners. Across services such as grooming, boarding, pet sitting, and training, the number of establishments has increased by 60 percent over those same 10 years.

During the interview process, Nola had to socialize with other dogs to test how well she could interact with them, which certainly didn't go to plan.

Brizzi explained that Nola isn't one to hide her feelings. As more dogs were introduced and began circling her, she bared her teeth.

She told Newsweek: "Everything was going fine until they let them off their leashes and added more dogs. These weren't laid-back dogs you'd want with a Chihuahua—these were hyper and bouncing poodles and Boston terriers.

Nola the chihuahua who failed her interview
Nola (L). Nola on the right lying on top of a corgi. Nola has become a viral sensation after she failed her daycare interview. Hope Brizzi

"Nola is the Chihuahua who doesn't know she's a dog. She prefers to spend her days asleep or eating—she doesn't do playtime. I didn't know she'd be forced to play with other dogs, I just wanted a place that would feed her and watch her while I was gone.

"She never attacked or lashed out, as far as I could see, but she made it clear she did not want to play. It also doesn't help that when Nola is being sassy, or even playful, she growls. That's just how she communicates."

It wasn't long before the daycare told Brizzi "in the sweetest and most apologetic way that [Nola] failed and wouldn't be allowed back." While this came as no surprise to Brizzi, she couldn't believe the look of pride on Nola's little face in that moment.

Brizzi continued: "Needless to say, I wasn't surprised. I looked at her little sassy self and saw she had an almost smiling look on her face, so I had to snap a picture of her. She seemed almost proud of herself."

After Brizzi posted the image on the Facebook group, Dogspotting Society, the picture received over 4,400 likes and hundreds of bemused comments.

One comment reads: "What did she do? I think she deserves another chance."

One person was completely on Nola's side, as they wrote: "At this point in my life, I too would fail an interview to be included in a social setting."

Many owners admitted that they too had endured similar experiences with their mischievous pups.

One owner commented: "Our boy got kicked out of 5 different daycare places after we adopted him. Fortunately, he's figured out how to do a little better now, and he loves to go to camp."

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


Alyce Collins is a Newsweek Life and Trends reporter based in Birmingham, U.K. with a focus on trending topics that ... Read more

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