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In a heartbreaking turn of events, local woman Sarah Whitmore was recently reunited with her long-lost Nintendogs, only to discover her once-beloved virtual pets in a state of emotional disrepair.
Now 26, Sarah stumbled upon the relic from her childhood while cleaning out her old bedroom. Nostalgic memories of carefree days spent walking her pixelated pooches quickly faded to sorrow as she powered on her pink Nintendo DS Lite, only to witness the sorry state of her forgotten Nintendogs.
“I thought I’d just charge it up, say a few commands, and be back in business,” Sarah lamented, clutching the DS as if it could somehow restore the bond they once shared. “But they wouldn’t even respond to my voice! It’s like they don’t know me anymore!”
“I tried everything—‘sit,’ ‘stay,’ even ‘good boy!’ Nothing. They used to adore me,” she continued, scrolling through their last interactions from 2007, when her 9-year-old voice still held some sway.
To add insult to injury, Sarah discovered that her virtual pups were not just emotionally distant; they were also famished, parched, and filthy. “I felt terrible. If this were real life, the RSPCA would be called. My beagle Lucky was so good at agility tournaments—he used to win so many awards! We’d go on such long walks, and now he doesn’t even recognise me.”
Now questioning her capabilities as a virtual dog owner, Sarah is left with one lingering thought: “What would happen if I had real dogs?”
