Sometimes reality can be a lot stranger than fiction. Just take all the recent technological breakthroughs coming out of Silicon Valley, for instance. Just 10 years ago, AI, self-driving cars, and robots were considered fodder for science fiction. But now, they are mainstays of the San Francisco Bay Area.
At times, it seems that this Mecca of modern technological marvels is set to rewrite everything we know about daily life, even dog walking. No, we are not reporting on some new AI dog walker or other innovation that changes the way we take our beloved canine companions out for a stroll.
Rather, we are talking about an entirely new dog breed: the robot dog. Yes, you read that right, San Francisco now has robot dogs roaming the streets. But that’s not the strangest part of this report.
In a bizarre twist, one robot dog that was recently spotted in the city by the bay had the head of none other than Elon Musk. And when this Elon Musk-robot dog encountered some actual dogs, two very bewildered Goldendoodles, their encounter surpassed even the strangest science fiction in just how purely bizarre it was.
Click here to watch this bizarre video.
Those Goldendoodles had absolutely no idea what they were looking at. Were they seeing a friend, or was it a foe? And why did it have the face of a hooman? They wagged their tails with trepidation and barked at this thing that could not communicate with them, although it did try raising a mechanical leg in their direction. Was it trying to give these dogs its “paw” (if we can even call it that)?
Related: Goldendoodle’s Odd Way of Welcoming Guests Earns Her a Timeout on the Stairs
Making things even stranger was that there was another robot dog on the street. But instead of having the head of the richest man in the world, this one had a face that looked like a small video game controller with a screen in the middle. Either way, this was a very bizarre sighting that these Goldendoodles didn’t know how to make heads or tails of.
Social Media Was Not a Fan of These Robot Dogs
A close-up of an unimpressed-looking Goldendoodle.Image via Shutterstock/caseyjadew
(Image via Shutterstock/caseyjadew)
Viewers on social media had a lot to say about this one. Some people compared the Elon Musk-looking robot dog to a hideous monster from an iconic 1980s horror movie: “Have you ever seen 1982’s The Thing?”
While other social media users bluntly stated, “We don’t need robot dogs.” Some viewers imagined what these confounded Goldendoodles might be thinking: “Those dogs are like, ‘This is some BS, LOL.’ There’s no way they like that thing.”
And some viewers and social media thought that this Elon Musk robot dog was absolutely terrifying: “Ummmm… I’m gonna have nightmares tonight. Thanks!”
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This story was originally published by PetHelpful on Apr 13, 2026, where it first appeared in the Pet News section. Add PetHelpful as a Preferred Source by clicking here.