Conversation Turns Awkward When Shih Tzu Walks In On Dog Joke

Story by Jacob Zlomke 

| Published Dec 1, 2009

While smoking a cigarette with friends Thursday afternoon, Ryan Muller ended up the cause of a rather awkward situation, according to Jason Schriever, who was with Muller.

“We were all standing around just kind of laughing and enjoying each other’s company, when Ryan says he has a joke,” Schriver said. “So we all listen, and he starts by saying something about a pit bull, a terrier and a German shepherd walking into a bar. But then he just got real quiet and trailed off and just said ‘So, yeah … that’s that.’”

Schriever said the whole group was confused until they saw that a shih tzu dog named Mr. Muffin had walked in the circle during Muller’s dog joke.

“None of us really knew what to say, so no one said anything,” Schriever said. “But he clearly knew we were saying something he wouldn’t like. He just stood there and looked at us. Didn’t even say anything.”

“I swear he wasn’t there when I started telling the joke,” Muller said. “I mean I’m not speciesist or anything, but that’s not a joke you want a dog to hear, so I looked around to make sure it was clear before I even said that I had a joke. But as soon as I get halfway through the joke, in waltzes that little shih tzu and just stares right at me.”

Muller said he tried to cover it up by asking Mr. Muffin who was "a good boy," but the dog was unresponsive.

“Finally, after his looking at me for a full on minute and all of us just awkwardly shuffling our feet and looking at the ground, he turned and walked away,” Muller said, “I think he kind of felt like he had made a point.”

Matthew Grimes, owner of Mr. Muffin and part of the awkward situation, said he and Muller tried to make unspoken amends with Mr. Muffin.

“We went up to him a little later and scratched his head and even threw his rope toy across the room for him to run after, you know, as a sort of informal apology,” Grimes said. “But he just wiped his ass by dragging his butt across my carpet. He did not seem pleased.”

Shortly after that, Grimes said, his friends started going home. According to him, the unpleasant situation had become too big and obvious for his friends to put up with.

“After that, there was no way I was going to stick around much longer with that damn dog just hanging around and acting like we all betrayed him," Schriever said. "It wasn’t even my joke.”

Muller said that in a few days he would return to Grimes’ house to see if Mr. Muffin wanted to go for a walk or maybe eat a dog treat out of his hand.

“I sure hope Mr. Muffin and I can get past this,” Muller said. “We have so many good memories together.”