What a senior golden retriever does to cope with past trauma has left the internet heartbroken.
Cathy Hoyt (@lifewithduke2025) has shared a video of her rescue dog Duke resource guarding a wicket basket—a behavior in which an animal claims and protects objects they perceive as theirs—racking up more than 87,500 likes and 1 million views on TikTok.
Duke’s behavior, while unusual, is rooted in fear and past instability, Hoyt told Newsweek.
“The first item he took and brought to his bed was a book. When we approached Duke to get the book back was when his severe resource guarding came up, and he gave us a warning and growled at us to stay away. It was his. He then moved on to my China dishes, cups, creamers, sugar, bowls that he took off the shelf in the dining room. Moving on, he has stolen framed pictures, electronics, laptop computers and much more. He will steal a kibble bin, a large one, and sleep with it,” Hoyt said.
In the viral video, Hoyt explains that Duke becomes intensely fixated on certain household items, often positioning himself protectively over them. She demonstrates how he allows physical affection but becomes tense and issues clear warnings if someone approaches the object he is guarding.
Hoyt says she and her husband have worked with professionals, but because Duke was almost 10 years old when adopted, the behavior is deeply ingrained. Rather than forcing him to give items up, they’ve chosen to give him space, believing the behavior stems from a lifetime of loss and instability.
She added that Duke does not guard food, only objects, which Hoyt believes represent security. She emphasized that dogs displaying behavioral issues were often misunderstood and urged viewers not to give up on them.
Duke turned 11 on October 31, and he was adopted by Hoyt and her husband on March 19, 2024, from SEVA GRREAT, a rescue organization in the Virginia Beach area. According to Hoyt, Duke had an erratic past and was moved between several homes within the same family before being surrendered. He was later adopted and returned again because of severe resource guarding, which was particularly concerning because the family had a young child.
Despite the challenges, Hoyt said she felt an immediate connection.
“I was drawn to Duke, for whatever reason a person is drawn to a particular dog. In his case, it just was his eyes and his mischievous look.”
After a successful trial period with their other dog, Gina, Duke joined the family permanently. Hoyt said it was then they noticed his habit of stealing household items—not food—and taking them to his bed or nap mat.
Hoyt, who works part time at a veterinary practice, said they consulted professionals and tried multiple techniques before deciding that the least stressful approach was to let Duke keep items temporarily. For dangerous or valuable objects, they use distraction rather than confrontation.
“Honestly, we would not want Duke any other way and hope to make these sunset years of his life perfectly happy,” she said.
She also stressed the importance of understanding resource guarding, noting there was “no question that Duke would bite if we just grab the item,” something they learned early on and no longer attempt.
TikTok users were quick to praise the approach.
“I have 2 senior rescues…one needs a psychiatrist the other an exorcist.. but I [love] them anyway!” one commenter wrote.
“If the face is gray he gets his way,” another user joked.
“Resource guarding is tricky. You never want to punish,” a user advised, adding that Duke was clearly giving warnings.
Another wrote: “My golden retriever also has resource guarding issues. We spent the first year of his life obsessing about fixing the problem. We hired trainers, did research, had multiple vet appts. The relief came when we decided to accept him of the behavior. Now we protect him by preventing triggering circumstances. Having a dog with behaviors has taught me so much about acceptance.