Baron Kratu von Bearbum, or just Kratu, is a Romanian rescue dog. His noteworthy, if not altogether stunning, appearances at the Crufts dog show have made him an internet celebrity.
When Kratu was rescued from Cluj-Napoca, Romania, he was only a few weeks old. Tessa Eagle Swan, an autistic woman from the United Kingdom, adopted the dog and trained him to be her service dog. In an interview with Bustle, she discussed how Kratu has been able to assist her.
“Where the system fails me, Kratu succeeds… He has brought me friendship where I was alone, lost, and lonely. Because his health and well-being are so important to me, I’m motivated to face and overcome my problems.” Eagle Swan entered Kratu in the Crufts dog show in 2017. On the occasion, they represented the Wood Green charity. The fans and critics loved Kratu’s disinterest in following the rules of the course. Kratu’s performance from the 2018 show went viral, and he has since become something of an internet star.
Eagle Swan tells how she first entered Kratu into the competition in an interview she later gave to Slate.
“We train with a charity called Wood Green, so we were invited to join the squad because we workout with them.” ‘We can’t do agility,’ I replied, but they said, ‘It’s just a basic course, and it’s fun.’ The objective is to demonstrate that rescue dogs and their owners can have a good time.”
Kratu runs the course in the manner that we would expect an untrained dog to do. Kratu runs anywhere his little heart wishes rather than following a predetermined route around the track. Kratu will sit inside the tube if he wishes. “The goal is that we want the dogs to have a good time here, regardless of whether they get it right or wrong,” the commentator remarked. “There is a proper course they should take, and Kratu is not taking it… that’s all I can say.”
The dog show’s Kratos performances have gone viral on YouTube. Over 1.8 million people saw his performance in 2019. Many others were so taken aback by Kratu’s performance that they felt forced to post a comment on the video.
“This is unquestionably an emotional support dog. “After viewing, my mood has improved significantly,” one person remarked. “I just adore how the announcers aren’t mad, and how the dog enjoys what he’s doing!” wrote another. “I adore Kratu because he embodies the phrase “do what you like, enjoy what you do.”
Kratu may not be the best at running the agility course, but he appears to enjoy himself, and isn’t that the most important thing?