This rescue dog who ate its owner has become the internet's new favourite pet

When an animal goes viral, it’s normally for one - or a combination of - these reasons:

1. It is unbelievably, other-wordly levels of cute
2. It is hilariously ugly
3. It has developed an especially close bond with its human, and they are inseperable
4. It has developed an especially close bond with another species of animal - one which is unexpected and therefore delightful
5. It’s done something heroic, like save a life
6. It is a dog who sits by its owner’s grave every day until its death, in a story that makes you cry your eyes out for days

One reason it is almost never for is eating its owner’s corpse.

But Rumpelstiltkin likes to go about viral fame a little differently, so that’s exactly what he did. Thankfully, though, the story is far less grisly than it seems.

Rumpelstiltskin is a rescue dog who had to take extreme measures to survive after his old owner died. Stuck in the house with no food, he eventually gnawed on his owner’s corpse to keep himself alive, before eventually being saved.

He now has a new owner, Tyfanee Fortuna, who posted his story on the popular Facebook page Dogspotting, and he’s quickly become the internet’s latest darling dog.

She wrote on the page: “Maybe this is the group where he finally gets the recognition he deserves. This is Rumpelstiltskin and he is 4lbs of love and nervous shaking. I adopted him 1yr ago from an animal shelter because his owner died. 

“Bonus info: his owner was dead for a considerable time before anyone noticed and he did eat his human to stay alive. +1 for being a survivalist pupper. His legs are weirdly long for his small body and also bowed out in a way that makes them look like a fancy table. He likes food, undivided attention, and sleeping for many hours at a time.”

Oh man, she wasn’t lying about the legs, was she? And those are some damn shifty eyes there, too. I’d make a bet that Rumpelstiltskin may be the result of a breeding experiment between a dog and a spider, but I still love him anyway.

And so does everyone in the comments on Tyfanee’s post. There have been a few cheeky requests to take him off her hands, plus an outpouring of support for this Bear Grylls of the dog world.

One person wrote: “Honestly, I’m most traumatized by the fact it took people two weeks to notice this woman had passed away. That’s an awful fate.

“I’m glad Rumpel and his kin survived though. By whatever means necessary, I don’t begrudge them a bit (seems like their owner probably wouldn’t have either).”

Another added: “This post prompted me to give my dogs verbal permission to eat my body posthumously to relieve them of any guilt, if we should find ourselves in a similar situation.”

Similarly, I would like to take this opportunity to tell my cats that, should I die in this manner and they be stuck alone in the house with me, they have permission to eat me from head to toe to stay alive, but also, the bag of food’s in the cupboard, and if you can get through that first that’d be preferable.

(Images: Tyfanee Fortuna/Facebook)