A 3-year-old boy was left devastated when their family dog swallowed the butterfly he had raised from a caterpillar for several weeks.
Ronnie Seddon had kept the caterpillar in a box for many weeks until it emerged from a cocoon as a white butterfly, which he named Ralph.
The proud little boy then released the butterfly in their garden. But only seconds later, their dog chased after the insect and ate it.
His father filmed the shocking moment Ronnie released Ralph in their garden.
In the video, Ronnie opens the cover of the plastic jar, turns it upside down, and starts shaking it to release the white insect.
Ralph then lands on the ground and as soon as it realizes that it is free, it flies away. However, the family dog notices the butterfly and immediately catches it, swallowing it whole.
Ronnie’s father, Danny, shared the clip on Facebook where it quickly went viral.
“I stopped recording as Ronnie got upset. He’s three years old and for a full day now has not stopped talking about his butterfly Ralph.
“We grew him from a caterpillar and decided it was time to set him free when our dog decided differently.
“I shared the video on my Facebook and people can’t stop laughing at it. Ronnie has been very angry at our dog Marvel and refuses to talk to him.”
One person commented: “I know the feeling. I took a huntsman spider out into the garden the other day because he had got a bit big for the house. As soon as I put the poor guy down a magpie flew up and ate him.”
Another shared: “This kid just learned a valuable lesson about Mother Nature, she don’t care. I raise a baby squirrel that I found in my yard after a hurricane. Kept him for about six months then took him to the woods and released him. It was like a Disney movie, the little fellow ran up the tree about 5 feet then turned around and looked at me. I shooed him up the tree to freedom. Than a hawk flew in and snatched him up. Nature, what you gonna do.”
Someone else said: “We just witnessed the making of a core memory.”
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