Meet Erik, a playful 7-month-old pup from the UK with a boundless imagination and just enough mischief to keep his human, Flora Neilson, on her toes.
When he's napping, Erik looks like the very definition of serenity. But the moment he wakes up? A tiny tornado of energy.
“I’m pretty sure he’s part monkey,” Flora joked. “He’s constantly sniffing around, hunting for anything he can chew on. It’s like having a toddler with fur. I have to watch him like a hawk.”
Here’s an example of what Flora expects to find if she doesn’t:
Despite her vigilance, Erik has a talent for finding trouble — and sometimes, for turning that trouble into unexpected art.
One quiet afternoon, Flora stepped away for just a moment. It was long enough.
Erik seized the opportunity, rooted through her belongings, and discovered what he believed to be a perfect new toy: a brown permanent marker. With puppy determination, he uncapped it, jumped on the couch, and began exploring what it could do.
By the time Flora returned, she was greeted with a familiar sight: another mess.
At first, she let out a tired sigh. But then she paused. There, smudged across the couch cover, was something strangely familiar.
“I looked again, and suddenly I saw it — he’d somehow drawn himself,” Flora laughed. “It was like he left a little self-portrait behind. Honestly, it was kind of impressive.”
Instead of rushing to scrub it clean, Flora decided to leave it. After all, it wasn’t just a stain — it was Erik, in all his chaotic, lovable glory.
“I wasn’t mad,” she said. “This is just who he is. If I got upset every time he did something he shouldn’t, I’d be mad all day.”
For Flora, life with Erik is equal parts unpredictable and hilarious. And even when he’s up to no good, he’s still her best friend — and now, apparently, an accidental artist, too.
