Florida man was convinced kid ‘stole’ his German Shepherd — until a sign next to his dog revealed the boy’s cutest scheme

While some kids sell lemonade or homemade crafts, one young Florida boy did something unusual that caught the attention. With just a few simple items and a friendly dog, he created a scene that quickly drew curious onlookers. What started as an ordinary day in the neighborhood soon turned into a delightful surprise.

As reported by Newsweek, a now-viral Instagram video posted on September 7, 2025, by 30-year-old Monte, also known as @dorka_bel, showed the moment he confronted a boy running a small petting zoo. The twist? The star of the zoo was Monte’s own German Shepherd, Dorka. In the video, Monte approaches the boy, who calmly asks him for $1 to pet the dog. “Kid stole my dog,” Monte wrote in the caption. Upon seeing his pet canine in an unfamiliar place, he instantly asked the kid, "What are you doing? That's my dog." The setup included a crate for Dorka, a desk with a sign reading “$1 petting zoo,” and even a toy cash register. "Can I pet my dog?" Monte asked, and got the expected reply. "Yeah. It's for $1." Monte, despite realizing it was his dog, laughed and paid the $1 anyway. He later revealed that the boy is actually his nephew and the whole situation was a lighthearted skit.

Monte shared that Dorka is a retired bomb-sniffing dog and his partner from his service in Afghanistan. Although now living a quiet life, Dorka is very friendly and seems to genuinely enjoy the attention. Monte added, “My nephew also enjoyed the experience and, while we did let people who stopped by pet Dorka, we didn’t actually charge people.” Surprisingly, some neighbors did stop to pet her and even offered to pay. The adorable video quickly caught attention online, racking up over 1.9 million views and more than 108,004 likes since being posted. 

Naturally, countless internet users came to the comment section to drop a few warm messages. @vicky_donniejoejoes mentioned, "This was so cute, and it gave me an idea. I need to raise money to get my dog a CCL tear repair surgery, and I'm going to put him in a playpen near the dog park and ask for $1 to pet him, and I think I could raise money like that to get his surgery done." @darnellhudsontech joked, "The boy and the dog had an agreement to make some money, and they both split it." 

@ardis_rivas stated, "This kid is gonna go places in life...He sees an opportunity to make money, and he takes it!" Monte also shared another clip that showed his nephew's petting business blooming. "Kid that stole my dog makes her his full-time employee," he wrote in the caption of the clip as it showed another kid paying his nephew to pet the sweet canine. 

For more wholesome dog content, follow @dorka_bel on Instagram.