The Original ‘Clown vs Dog’ Photo Is a Sweet Lab Named Millie

If you have seen the viral “Clown vs Dog” photo that’s trending on social media and wondered who took the original photo, we now know the answer. John Falconer from the UK reached out to Heavy to let us know that the dog in the trending photo is Millie, a sweet black lab mix.

Millie Is a Black Lab Mix Who Was Born in 2002 & Passed Away in 2016 Surrounded By Her Loving Family

John FalconerMillie was a sweet dog.

Falconer told Heavy that the dog who’s the subject of the viral photo is his family’s beloved Millie.

“This is Millie, she was a black lab cross Ridgeback/mastiff,” he wrote to Heavy. “Owned and greatly loved by the Falconer family of Sussex (and now Aberdeenshire) in the UK.”

John FalconerA photo of a younger Millie

Millie was born on September 11, 2002. He told Heavy that she had to be put to sleep in November 2016 because of health issues, but she was surrounded by love in her last moments.

“All the children were present, she was at home and was fed custard cream biscuits ( her favourite) and went to sleep being stroked and cuddled by all of us,” Falconer shared. “We miss her still.”

She Was 11 When the Photo Was Taken

John FalconerSweet Millie

Falconer told Heavy that Millie was about 11 years old when the now-viral photo was taken.

“I took this photo and was a bit freaked out by the result. She was about 11 years old at the time,” he said.

John FalconerMillie was a sweet dog.

He said he doesn’t mind that the photo’s gone viral.

“There’s so many people looking at her – it’s weird, but thanks for making her famous,” he shared.

The Photo Went Viral as People Debated if the Picture Showed a Clown or a Dog

John FalconerHere’s the viral photo.

The photo has now gone viral on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other platforms. Some people see a creepy clown crawling on the ground, but others easily see the dog that we now know is sweet Millie. The photo was hard to decipher for some because of how grainy it is, so the brain may try to make connections and patterns that are wrong, leading some people to see a clown. To see diagrams of both in case you’re having trouble seeing one or the other, see Heavy’s story here.

John FalconerMillie playing in her loving home.

The passionate debates are reminiscent of the Yanny vs Laurel debate from 2018, when everyone couldn’t decide if an audio file was saying Yanny or Laurel. This also brings back memories of the dress debate, where people couldn’t decide if the dress was white and gold or black and blue.

But in this case, we now know that the mystery is solved. It’s not a clown at all, but simply a grainy photo that was taken around 2013 of a very sweet black lab mix named Millie. The photo was taken in the UK and Millie was deeply loved by her family.

John FalconerMillie was deeply loved.

Perhaps this story will inspire you to adopt a dog in your area. Plenty of rescues and animal shelters have pups looking for a loving home right now.

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