Get you up to speed: Cow-loving dog ‘moos’ instead of barking | News UK
A Golden retriever named Lucie, owned by Cara Ovens from West Lothian, has gained viral fame for her unique ‘moo’ sound. The dog, now nine years old, has been making this distinctive noise since she was ten weeks old, and can also bark like a typical dog.
Cara Ovens began sharing videos of her dog Lucie on Instagram in 2020, with the dog first going viral last spring. Despite attracting significant online attention, no further details about Lucie’s unique vocalisation have been provided by experts.
Cara Ovens, the owner of Lucie, reported receiving numerous comments from social media users expressing how much joy the unique sound brings them, which prompted her to share more clips. In response to the viral attention, Ovens aims to continue spreading enjoyment by posting Lucie’s entertaining antics online.
What remains unclear — The reason behind Lucie’s unique ‘moo’ sound has not been conclusively established.
Golden retriever goes viral for unique ‘mooing’ sound instead of barking
A Golden retriever has gone viral for her distinctive ‘moo’ sound she’s made since she was a puppy – and her love of cows.
Lucie, now nine, still makes the noise and went viral after her owner, Cara Ovens, 36, began sharing clips on social media.
In one clip, the dog can be seen ‘mooing’ at a group of cows, who moo back in surprise.
Cara, from West Lothian, said: ‘It started very early, and it was a bit of a shock – she was about ten weeks old when she first did it.
‘It just got more enthusiastic as the years went on, and here we are, nine years later, and she’s louder than ever.”
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Lucie, who is in perfect health, can also make a more typical barking sound, but Cara believes she enjoys the reaction she gets from people with her unique noise.
While the noise sometimes reminds Cara of a cow, she says more often, it sounds like a human saying ‘woo’.
‘I think she learnt that it gets a reaction,’ Cara laughs.
‘She does many different tones, different volumes, different strengths – I do think it’s a communication method above all else.
‘There have been a couple she’s done in the past which sound very close to a human saying ‘woo’, but I can appreciate when surrounded by cows, it sounds very like a ‘moo’.’
Cara began sharing clips of Lucie on her Instagram, @luciewoos, back in 2020, but last spring, Lucie went viral for the first time.
Commenters have been amused and bemused by Lucie’s bark – even suggesting that Cara sees a pet psychic to find out the reasons behind it.
‘Most of the comments we get ask if she barks as well – and yes, she does, it can be quite noisy!’
‘Most of the time we get comments of people saying how much joy it brings them, which is the reason I decided to start sharing in the first place,’ she said.
‘She makes me laugh out loud, without fail, every single day. If we can spread that joy a little bit further, that’s the goal.’