Strangers online think Newt the Goldendoodle is just ‘pampered’, and some have even accused his owner Kate Beers of abuse.

But the reality is that Newt has a condition that necessitates the use of a high chair at every one of his meals

Kate, 25, took to TikTok to share that the sweet pooch has congenital megaoesophagus, and the muscles in his oesophagus are paralysed.

This means Newt has to rely on gravity to get his food down, so eating sat up in his chair isn’t based on some whim – it’s mandatory for the sake of his health.

Kate said: ‘If he doesn’t eat in the chair the food will either come back up his oesophagus, and he regurgitates and often aspirates/chokes on it. He will also choke on it in his sleep when laying vertically.

‘This leads to aspiration pneumonia, which has a high mortality rate in dogs.

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‘Since the condition is congenital, he was born with this. We noticed something was wrong within the first week of bringing him home as a puppy and spent a few weeks diagnosing it.’

Newt has eaten up in chairs ever since he was a pup, so he’s used to it by now.

Kate said: ‘We’ve actually had to build multiple chairs because he grew so fast, and it has to fit perfectly otherwise it won’t work properly.

‘The reactions vary quite a bit, and many people are just uninformed I think of why he eats in a chair.

‘Some think it’s just for fun, but others understand he has a condition.

‘Then of course there’s the 5-10% of comments that are not informed and suggest it’s bad for his posture/legs, with some people saying it’s stupid and why would we do this to our dog, it’s animal abuse.

‘There are other dogs that struggle with this condition and since it’s expensive and very intense to treat and maintain, sadly a lot of these dogs are given up.

‘I would encourage people to look into this and be open to giving a dog with any condition a home because this has been one of the biggest blessings we’ve had in our lives.

‘Not only do we get to give this amazing dog a good life, he teaches us to be positive and grateful every day with his positive, happy, goofy, “living life to the fullest” attitude.

‘Despite his condition, he is the happiest dog we’ve seen, and he brings so much joy to our lives.’

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