Quarantined bulldog sadly watches kids play from his balcony

Dog looking sad
Look at that face (Picture: Rashida Ellis)

It’s a confusing time for all of us, but more so for children and pets who may not be able to fathom why life is on pause.

One dejected dog who’s stuck indoors is especially upset by the lockdown.

Three-year-old dog Big Poppa was snapped looking crestfallen as he watched two children play outside from his balcony. A picture of the dejected dog was shared by owner Rashida Ellis, 38, a costume designer from Atlanta, Georgia, on Twitter. It has since blown up online, attracting the likes of Game of Thrones star Maisie Williams and even Ellen DeGeneres.
She tweeted: ‘Big Poppa has been so sad today, I think he miss playing with the kids in the building. He just watches them from the patio.’

The tweet has more than 600,000 likes, with many wishing they could play with Big Poppa.

Maisie Williams wrote: ‘Not being dramatic but I would literally die for Big Poppa,’ meanwhile Ellen used the opportunity to remind people the importance of social distancing.

‘Stay inside. Flatten this curve. Do it for Big Poppa,’ she wrote. Soon Big Poppa was trending in the US.

Read your dog's body language.

Sad dog on balcony
Wish we could play with Big Poppa (Picture: Rashida Ellis)
Rashida has since tried to cheer Big Poppa up by buying him a new bed but unfortunately when it arrived it was too small.

Now Big Poppa watches the children play from the balcony in his all too small bed.

Big Poppa can’t join the kids play downstairs due to social distancing rules but as he and Rashida live on the sixth floor, it also makes it difficult for the cute doggo to run around.

He has, at least, won the heart of millions and continues to get more fans over on his Instagram account.

Rashida even posted a throwback picture of the pooch when he was little Poppa.

Since the Twitter fame, Poppa’s Instagram account has acquired more than 42,000 followers.

His loyal fans have written things such as ‘The day all this ends I would like to sign my name on the waiting list to play with Big Poppa,’ and ‘Pls hug that dog for me oh man’.

Bulldog puppy
He was cute when he was small Poppa (Picture: Rashida Ellis)

Rashida has been trying to keep Big Poppa entertained but the pup prefers to play with children.

She wrote: ‘I’ve been trying but he loves children more than anything and not being able to play with them daily but he can see them… I think it’s taking a toll on him.’

Be realistic. Unrealistic goals will only prevent you from growing. There are two common mistakes a dog owner can make that will slam the brakes hard on any potential progress you might be hoping for. First, the expectations we place on our dogs and ourselves. The misguided belief that your dog “should” be performing or responding at a certain predetermined level. Another mistake many owners make is having unrealistic assumptions. Many of us assume that our dog understands what we want and that he knows what we’re asking of him. As if that wasn’t bad enough, some of us assume that the dogs failure to perform means he’s either rebelling, stubborn, or just plain stupid.

We can’t wait for lockdown to be over for several reasons. Now, we’ve added Big Poppa to that list.

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