It’s not unusual to find dogs guarding their property and homes in a variety of ways, though some are certainly more common than others.
Barking in the yard, running along the fence and even watching from the windows are totally expected forms of guardianship. But hanging out on the roof? Not so much.
Huckleberry is a daring golden retriever who took the world by storm in 2017. Living in Austin, Texas, with his owners in a home set into a hillside, Huck soon took advantage of the topography and discovered he could easily jump from a hilly part of the yard onto the roof, allowing him even more territory to roam.
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“He likes to sit up there and watch the cars and passersby,” owner Allie Lindenmuth told CBS News. “He loves to bark and say hello!”
But Huck’s unusual perch was worrying lots of passersby, and after a while their well-meaning but unnecessary attempts to “inform” the owners of their dog’s location grew tedious.
According to the Mirror, Lindenmuth would get up to five people a week knocking at her door, and so she decided to post a sign explaining the dog’s shenanigans.
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“Huckleberry is living up to his name and learned how to jump onto our roof from the backyard,” the sign with a photo of the happy golden read. “We never leave him in the backyard without someone being at home. He will not jump off unless you entice him with food or a ball!
“We appreciate your concern but please do not knock on our door — we know he’s up there! But please feel free to take pictures of him and share with the world!”
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Most of the locals are familiar with the dog’s antics by now, and Lindenmuth said they always know when he’s on the roof.
“He now goes up every single time we let him outside,” she said. “It is pretty obvious when he is up there. … It is very loud.”
Over the years, Huck has earned quite a following, and has accounts on both Instagram and Facebook. He’s become a bit of a celebrity.
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“One time we were working on landscaping in the front yard and this car kept going by and slowing down in front of the house,” Lindenmuth said.
“We’re fairly used to that but they did it like 10 times and Huck was inside. Finally, they pull up to the driveway and the driver said, ‘My 85-year-old mother is in town and I told her about your roof dog. Could you show him to her?'”
While the adventurous dog now has white around his muzzle and his age is starting to show, the family got a new pup in April. They gave her an appropriately Texas-themed name: Bluebell.
And yes — Bluebell is taking notes from her big brother and will likely be the next roof dog.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
