When a woman returned home recently, she expected the familiar wagging welcome of her golden retriever, Nova. Instead, she opened the door to a very different scene.
The hallway floor was carpeted in shredded toilet paper, a confetti-like trail of mischief. Yet Nova was nowhere in sight. The hilarious moment was captured on camera and later shared to TikTok account @novathegoldenn, where it quickly charmed dog lovers.
The text layered over the clip reads: “My golden retriever didn’t greet me at the door when I came home so I knew something was wrong,” earning over 83,000 views.
As her owner climbed the steps, the mystery only deepened: a chewed-up toilet roll lay abandoned on the landing, but still no golden retriever in view. Finally, in the next room, Nova appeared—perched calmly on a bed, tail wagging, her face the picture of innocence.
From behind the camera, her owner teased, “Why didn’t you greet me at the door? Is it because you know you’re in trouble?”
Nova stayed put, bowing her head ever so slightly, almost as if hanging it in shame. “Were you a bad girl? You know you’re guilty,” her owner said playfully, pointing out how Nova slowly closed her eyes—almost like a child convinced that if she couldn’t see her mom, she couldn’t be seen.
It wasn’t the first offense. In just one week, Nova had managed to demolish three toilet rolls, yet she seemed perfectly content with her handiwork.
Why Dogs Only Look Guilty
While Nova’s antics may seem like a textbook case of canine guilt, scientists say her behavior tells a different story.
Researchers from the University of Cambridge in the U.K. and the University of Rijeka in Croatia set out to understand what really triggers the so-called “guilty look.” Many dog owners swear their pets know when they’ve misbehaved, but earlier research suggested these expressions are more about human reactions than true remorse.
To find out, the team gave dogs a chance to break the rules: some were allowed to eat forbidden food, while others weren’t. When their owners returned, sometimes the leftover food was left visible and sometimes it was hidden.
The results? Owners’ guesses about whether their dog had eaten the forbidden treat were no better than random chance. More importantly, the dogs’ body language—the very cues we interpret as guilt—didn’t change whether or not they had actually been naughty, or whether the evidence was on display.
The researchers concluded that the “guilty look” is not a sign of true canine guilt but a reaction to the owner’s tone or body language—essentially, dogs responding to our cues, not their own conscience.
So, while Nova’s half-closed eyes and lowered head might melt hearts on social media, science suggests she’s not secretly stewing in shame. She’s just being a dog—delighted with her toilet paper masterpiece and ready for the next roll of fun.
TikTok Reacts
So far, the video shared on September 24 has almost 7,500 likes.
“My favorite is how even when they’re in trouble, their tail is still wagging trying to hold back the excitement to see you still,” said one user.
“You can never actually be mad at a golden no matter what they do,” stated another user and Nova’s owner replied: “It’s actually impossible!”
Newsweek reached out to @novathegoldenn for comment. We could not verify the details of the case.