Parenting is tough business, and it should be a concern that parents can do something that will change their children forever, sometimes for the worse.
This is true for human children and pet parents, by the way.
TikToker @nick_norcia swiped his hand down his face and through his clustered hair, stressed after learning that the hard way, before launching into a cautionary tale that left fellow TikTokers either in a state of rage or shock.
Norcia first brought attention to his roommate's beautiful white dog circling in the backyard.
"So, I want you all to witness her [my roommate's dog] right now. See how it appears that she's looking for something?"
The dog was circling, tail wagging, and ears perking up and down, as she was clearly trying to track something down.
The TikToker continued, now sharing a cautionary tale with the public:
"Okay, so, this is where I come clean and talk about how I broke my roommate's dog."
"So about two years ago, I noticed she liked reflections. So I took a mirror out here [in the backyard], and we played a little game of fetch to find the reflection."
"I did post a video of it. I thought I was being a little cute little innocent boy with a dog, and then a lot of veterinarians specifically were like, 'Do not do this.' I was like, 'What?' They were like, 'No, this will literally give your dog a mental disorder.'"
"So basically, two years later..."
The entire time while the TikToker had been relaying this information, his roommate's dog had been circling the backyard.
Norcia admitted the veterinarians' advice had been correct.
"She is still looking for the reflection."
"It kind of gave her a touch of schizophrenia. Definitely ADHD. But she's always looking for something."
"Theo [the other dog in the family] is great, because I haven't played the game with him."
"This is your sign to not do that. Don't, because... [gestures to dog] She's fine, but she's a little special."
You can watch the video here:
There were a rare few TikTokers who appreciated the information because they didn't know that Laser Pointer Syndrome was a real condition.
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A few stated that their dogs had gone through something similar and shared how they corrected it.
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But most TikTokers were enraged.
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When one TikToker asked how Norcia wasn't consumed by guilt, he stated in a second video that he felt terrible about it and was ready to do anything it took to help the dog get better.
Because of a series of tragedies in his life, he'd learned to joke about tough subjects, which unfortunately now included Laser Pointer Syndrome, but he did feel terribly about it.
You can watch the video here:
Norcia stated that they'd already tried attached a laser pointer to treats, so the dog could be tricked into thinking that she ate it and that the light was gone now and didn't need to be looked for anymore. He'd also tried attaching one to a frisbee, so the light could be a part of something tangible that she didn't need to search for.
Neither had worked, so he assumed that either medication or dog training was the next step.
Let this be a warning to you!
