'Curious' dog falls in grave moments before coffin lowered
The Auckland funeral took a bizarre turn when a family member's dog was let off his leash.
A family pet has surprisingly avoided the dog house after disrupting a funeral at one of the worst times possible.
Initially on a leash, Cochise the dog was with his owner Paulie at his uncle George's funeral in Auckland on Friday. However after one of the children in attendance unclipped his lead, the funeral took an unfortunate turn.
"Cochise got curious about the hole and slipped on the green matting and fell into the hole," Paulie told Yahoo News Australia.
"He was in there for a few minutes, while the priest gave his eulogy and he was barking the whole time."
In remarkable video, Cochise can be seen sitting at the bottom of the grave looking up as the coffin sits above ready to be lowered.
Unable to get him out, a man resorts to jumping into the grave after the coffin is moved and pulling the dog out. "Never knew you'd go in there before your dad," a woman says off camera.
Thankfully, the episode was welcomed by those present. "Everyone found it highly amusing and it really lightened the mood of the funeral," Paulie said.
Funeral mishap a huge hit online
Unsurprisingly, the video has become a huge hit online, amassing close to 20,000 upvotes on Reddit in just several hours on Saturday.
"I've been told there would be bones here...most likely your dog's argument," one person joked in the comments.
"Dog’s in grave danger," another said.
Many said they wished to have a funeral as relaxed as the one portrayed in the video, with many attendees appearing unfazed by the hiccup. "I mean that's how I'd want people to react if it was my funeral. Just want everyone to be happy even when I'm gone," one comment read.
"Just Kiwis being Kiwis," another said.
Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.
You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube.