--- title: This Dog Is Understandably Suspicious Of Its Own Portrait description: A dog spotted its own portrait and it did not go well canonical: https://time.com/5777447/dog-portrait-reaction/ author: Melissa Locker article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2020-02-05T15:48:55.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T08:01:16.399Z og:title: Understandable Dog Has Increasingly Suspicious Reaction to Its Own Portrait og:description: Everyone is an art critic og:url: https://time.com/5777447/dog-portrait-reaction/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5f0f9cb7b8d9d963/698a09d50116824ef297eef6/DogPortrait.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Picture frame with copy space og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Understandable Dog Has Increasingly Suspicious Reaction to Its Own Portrait twitter:description: Everyone is an art critic twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5f0f9cb7b8d9d963/698a09d50116824ef297eef6/DogPortrait.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Understandable Dog Has Increasingly Suspicious Reaction to Its Own Portrait by [Melissa Locker](https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Feb 5, 2020 3:48 PM UTC  Getty Images by [Melissa Locker](https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Feb 5, 2020 3:48 PM UTC Professional art critics typically earn their credentials by studying fine arts, reading critical theory, and poring over art history while honing their craft. After spotting a portrait of itself, though, [a dog](https://time.com/4775436/how-smart-is-a-dog-really/) skipped those steps and went into full art critic mode, no studying required. Twitter user Kaitlyn Adams (a.k.a. @Kait2lyn) [tweeted](https://twitter.com/Kait2lyn/status/1224755524639412225) that her boss had kindly commissioned a portrait of her rescue dog, Gomez, but the unveiling didn’t go exactly as planned. Thanks to a video shared online, both art and [dog aficionados](https://time.com/5344210/dogs-empathy-study/) could watch as the dog got his first glimpse of the portrait. Adams wrote, “My boss got me a portrait of [my dog](https://time.com/4870796/dog-owners-benefits/) and yesterday he thought it was real and I’m still laughing”. From the moment Gomez saw the picture, he was suspicious, barking like a stranger had broken into the house and propped itself up in the corner like a real weirdo. When they say everyone’s a critic, they are including our four-legged friends, apparently. > [](https://twitter.com/Kait2lyn/status/1224755524639412225) As the video went viral, other [dog lovers](https://time.com/5342964/human-bond-dog-thoughts/) weighed in with their own takes on the clip and stories of their own dogs making their opinions on art known. > [](https://twitter.com/tressiemcphd/status/1224757007946866690) > [](https://twitter.com/AugustSteve/status/1224823786505228294) > [](https://twitter.com/ajax659/status/1224840528455438337) > [](https://twitter.com/KadeeMcDonald/status/1224795467885793280) > [](https://twitter.com/MelsHalpern/status/1224918409890148353) Adams followed up her viral tweet by suggesting that people consider rescuing dogs when looking for a pet. Just remember when you’re adopting a pup, you’re also potentially bringing home an art critic, too. > [](https://twitter.com/Kait2lyn/status/1224809495991222272) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5777447/dog-portrait-reaction/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5777447/dog-portrait-reaction/"},"headline":"Understandable Dog Has Increasingly Suspicious Reaction to Its Own Portrait","datePublished":"2020-02-05T15:48:55.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:01:16.399Z","description":"Everyone is an art critic","url":"https://time.com/5777447/dog-portrait-reaction/","keywords":["Newsfeed","animals","Dogs","viral","onetime","clickmonsters"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5f0f9cb7b8d9d963/698a09d50116824ef297eef6/DogPortrait.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Melissa Locker","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5f0f9cb7b8d9d963/698a09d50116824ef297eef6/DogPortrait.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Picture frame with copy space","caption":"Dog portrait","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5777447/dog-portrait-reaction/","name":"Understandable Dog Has Increasingly Suspicious Reaction to Its Own Portrait"}}]}] ```