Truth behind viral video of 7 dogs escaping thieves, walking back home

A video of seven dogs walking together went viral.

In a plot that feels straight out of a movie, a video went viral online with the narrative that seven dogs in China staged a "great escape" after allegedly being kidnapped by thieves working for a meat shop. Though the video of the dogs is authentic, the narrative around it is not.

The dogs are seen walking at the side of a busy highway. (Screengrab (X))

The story of the “miraculous journey” was debunked by Chinese state media, CNN reported.

The man who originally took the video speculated that the dogs had escaped from captivity and were on their way home. However, he later said that he didn’t actually see the dogs escape.

Citing China’s state-backed Cover News, CNN reported that the dogs were not stolen. In reality, they belong to villagers who live near the highway where the canines were spotted.

In an interview with the Chinese state-owned City Evening News, the owners clarified that the dogs were drawn to the German Shepherd because it was in heat.

The owners reportedly added that most of the dogs in the village are free-roaming. They also disappear for a few days during the heat cycle and eventually return to their respective owners.

Why did the video go viral?

“This sort of content can prove incredibly popular and can go viral. And so that does mean that it can be quite an effective way to build up an account’s numbers very quickly,” Tama Leaver, professor of internet studies at Curtin University in Perth, Australia, told CNN.

“When we lower our expectations and admit that we may not care in one space, it does mean perhaps our critical skills won’t be as sharp in the other ones,” he said.