A pet parent who recently upgraded her Roomba couldn’t believe the terrifying photo she received as it mapped out the house.
Dog owner Lauren, who runs Hayat Salukis out of North Carolina, welcomed home Emir the Saluki in June 2011 when he was just 8 weeks old. This dog breed is among one of the oldest, according to the American Kennel Club. Slim, tall and strong, salukis were the hunting hounds for kings thousands of years ago.
“He was my first show dog and first Saluki,” Lauren told Newsweek via email. “In his heyday, he was an accomplished lure coursing dog, winning a best in field even, and is an AKC champion.”
But now, inching closer to 14 years old, Emir traded in the show dog crown to become a hot topic on Reddit, whether he realizes it or not, after a creepy image of him came across Lauren’s phone from her new Roomba.
Roombas, an autonomous robot vacuum, use sensors to navigate a person’s home and avoid obstacles. The tiny vacuum cleans the floors while it roams around a person’s house. Lauren said she’s owned Roombas for years, but she recently upgraded to her first “smart” one that shows her any obstacles it runs into. That’s when she received a haunting photo.
“I was reviewing the obstacles to see how I could help it clean efficiently, and he was there,” she said.
In the pixelated photo, Emir stood in the vacuum’s cleaning path. His long, lanky legs looked extra skinny and his body distorted. His glaring eyes could send shivers down your spine.
Lauren and her husband couldn’t stop laughing at how Emir looked. She said her husband, a cartoonist named Mr. Lovenstein, found inspiration in the creepy photo and drew his own interpretation of what the Roomba captured.
Having this story and funny picture to look back on feels extra special for the couple as Emir is nearing the end of his life. They scheduled an end-of-life photoshoot for Emir this weekend. But Lauren doesn’t dwell on the end.
“He’s lived a very full life, so we are happy,” she said.
Redditors React
As of Thursday, the Reddit post amassed over 14,000 upvotes and users claimed it was the perfect post in the subreddit channel r/CryptidDogs.They called Emir a “cursed-looking Saluki.”
“He’s giving interdimensional vibes and I’m HERE. FOR. IT. Portal, please?” commented one user.
Another added: “Truly haunting. Perhaps regretting seeing this before bed. Perfect 10/10 cryptid.”
A third joke: “‘Dog,’ right. Definitely not an interdimensional being.”
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