It was sweet, and then the beak fell off.
I think the theory that Meg over at Cute Overload occasionally posts questionable content just to fuck with her viewers maybe true. Yesterday, Meg posted this video which tells the touching story of a dog who comes to a farm as a puppy and the duck (a male duck named Sheila) who adopts him. Unfortunately, Sheila eventually dies of old age.

That's where it gets weird.

Sheila's owners decide to get the duck embalmed and present the stuffed results to the dog, who is very happy to see his friend again. So happy, in fact, that he knocks her fake beak off. The video ends with one of the owners dragging Sheila's corpse so the dog can chase after it.



Reactions are mixed. Some people are just shaking their heads at the WTFness of the video:

Beak falls off.

[viewer suffers embolism from severe case of didn't-see-THAT-coming]

What a truly...deranged, heart-wrenching, Adams Family moment.
-Johanna

Many people say they couldn't help laughing despite themselves:

"Why did Auntie Duck's face fall off? ... OH TIME FOR A WALK!!! Lets go!"

I've never been so horrified, but not able to wipe the smile off my face.
-Moto's Momie

And a few are so horrified that they become unable to turn off their Capslock:

GOOD GRIEF!!!!! SICK SICK SICK!! THE SCARY PART IS THESE PEOPLE ARE OUT THERE PROCREATING!!# ONE WAS BAD BUT # TWO WAS HORRIBLE. HOW WILL THEY TREAT THEIR DEAD LOVED ONES MUCH LESS THE CHILDREN???
-PACAT

Then the nuffers (Cute Overload's word for negative comments decrying the entry) start up claiming Meg has jumped the shark, and that she needs to remove the video right away:

"Why the heck is it sick? They got the duck stuffed so the dog would be able to be with his friend forever."

"Forever"? More like 5 minutes, until it destroyed it.

"They probably didn't see the beak accident coming either!"

They videotaped it and posted it, and CO's moderators posted it here. SOMEWHERE along the way, someone should've showed better judgment.
-Robin

That's HORRIBLE!! It makes me want to CRY! His friend died so they showed him it and pretended it was real? They drug his dead friend across the lawn??

I expect better from Cute Overload. I expect it to make me feel better, not depress the crap out of me...
-Fritters



And we also have angry flounces!

That video was terrible. It was stupid and cruel. We aren't even going back to cuteoverload again after seeing that. Very disappointing.
-Emily

It's official: CO has now become eBaum's World.

Honestly -- do you moderators have NO filters? What is "cute" about a dead duck? What is "cute" about a dead duck having its beak accidentally knocked off by its former friend?

I'm done here. You people have creeped me out for the last time. And I hope many of your other former fans do the same.
-Robin (possibly same Robin as above, dunno for sure)

that goes along with the baby abusing a puppy in my mind....if I want to watch something depressing I don't go to Cute Overload! Dang I did not need that!!! How dumb do you think dogs are anyway??? He must have been so horrified, poor thing. I find this highly offensive and don't think I will visit this site as much as I used to.
-madcat


And then someone reveals that the video was fake, made as commercial for an Argentinian Internet Provider. Their tagline translates to "Internet you talk about."



Of course, the nuffers don't care that it's fake:

yeah, everyone who thought this was funny or cute, put a cat there in place of a duck, and picture it stuffed and being dragged across the yard on a leash, and you'll figure out pretty quickly why it's not funny. If it were more well known animal as a 'pet' then it wouldn't be funny at all.

I get why it's a commericial, but watching it, i wouldn't be able to tell you what product it's for or why we should purchase the product - that's why it's a bad commerical. I don't care if its an ad or not, it still sucks.
-Kimberly

And Chris here worries the video may spawn copycat duck draggings:

I don't care if it's "really" a commercial, how does that make it any better?
It's still gross and might give people ideas.


There's more to the thread, including discussions on the merits of giving ducks wheels, people quoting sketches about parrots who are pining for the fjords, and the vegans also weigh in toward the end.

I'll leave the parting shot to Sara here:

If dragging my preserved body around the yard made my friend that happy, I'd be fine with it.

ETA: Link to commercial fixed, sorry.

ETA 2: The Duck Drags Back: We have more angry flounces!



That. was the worst CO videos I ever saw. I am totally disgusted and put off by how those people could still present the dead duck to the dog to make it happy for just a while only to realise it's bf is gone, while those people can laugh about it and drag it carcass across the field as though life is a big joke!

Come on! Imagine if you're dead and someone esle drags your body and play with it as though this whole thing about life and individual meant nothing at all when we were alive?!

Argh. I don't hope to see anymore of such video in CO again, otherwise I think I may just stop visiting CO seriously... I've been a fan of CO for years and I hope things like this wouldnt happen again. =(
-Liiiting

X.X
Traumatized
I'm guessing the dog is too. That's just awful. I haven't read all the comments, but if that is a fake duck, it's still a real dog thinking it's his lost friend, attempting to play with it, and then being horribly disappointed. Then dragging it through the field, that is a sad and confused dog, most likely trying to get to the bird to protect it from the craaaaazy b**** dragging it. If it's a commercial, it's still sick. That is a sad dog.
-Henshu

A super-popular blog like this with major corporate sponsers SHOULD listen to what their veiwers have to say. But I've noticed Meg never does listen, she just keeps doing things that alienate all but hardcore fans.

I remember when my sisters and my cousin and my friends all used to check CO, now everytime I mention seeing something on here I hear "oh, I don't go there anymore, it's not cute anymore." Between the intentionally UNcute posts to spark comments and the increasingly common (and lazy!) re-posts, this site has a pretty questionable business model.
-Monique

Just to note: The only "major corporate sponsors" I could find on the front page were an ad from Ebay and an ad from Trojan condoms both promoting their charitable efforts. Both are provided by a revolving web advertisement service called Adbright.

There is also an ad for the "I Can Haz Cheezburger?" calendar, but I don't think Lolcats count as a major corporate sponsor.