Little boy nurtures caterpillar into butterfly — until dog eats it
A young man with a love for animals and insects has just learned about the “circle of life” the hard way.
At just 3 years old, Ronnie Seddon has witnessed the miracle of birth, the joys of parenthood and the anguish of death — all in one hapless act that saw his dog devour a butterfly which the boy had nurtured through metamorphosis.
What should have been a touching moment became a macabre metaphor — every aching second of which was caught on camera by his father, Danny, 25, who shared the now-viral video on Facebook over the weekend.
“People can’t stop laughing at it,” he said.
Ronnie had fostered the caterpillar, Ralph, in a terrarium for several weeks, according to the Daily Mail, before it transitioned into a chrysalis, and later emerged as a small white butterfly.
He eagerly held a jar with the butterfly fluttering inside in the video before releasing the delicate creature into the air.
But as Ralph struggled to gain stability, it fell into the grass where the oblivious King Cavalier spaniel, Marvel, eagerly snatched the downed butterfly.
“You idiot!” father Danny can be heard saying in the background as the camera zooms close to the dog with a guilty expression.
The 48-second video, captured on July 27, concludes with Ronnie’s crumpled mien as he reconciles with the betrayal.
“I stopped recording as Ronnie got upset,” said dad. “He’s 3 years old and for a full day now has not stopped talking about his butterfly Ralph.”
Danny, whose post went viral on Facebook with more than 5,300 shares, added that the boy and his dog have struggled to patch things up.
“Ronnie has been very angry at our dog Marvel and refuses to talk to him,” he said.
