President of Ireland’s dog vying for attention during live TV interview delights Internet

President of Ireland Michael D. Higgins gave a TV interview on Sunday, but it was a behind-the-scenes clip of his adorable dog that got people talking.

A video uploaded to the Irish President’s official TikTok account showed Misneach, a Bernese mountain dog, playfully paw at Higgins as he spoke to broadcaster RTÉ.

Unsatisfied with the lack of attention, the pup begins to sniff at the President’s clothes and fingers. Higgins calmly pats and strokes the dog as he continues talking to the cameras, clearly used to this type of distraction from his cute companion.

The adorable video went viral after Sinéad Crowley, an arts and media correspondent with RTÉ, shared the clip, which showed what was happening off-camera.

Higgins was giving an interview to pay tribute to his friend, the Irish actor Tom Hickey, whose death was announced the previous day.

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The clip has now been viewed more than 240,000 views and 53,000 likes on TikTok. It’s been shared hundreds of thousands of times on Twitter too.

Viewers said the clip “made their day.”

Though some were most distracted by the huge acorn in the background.

There were also a few behind the scenes images of the President’s two dogs posted on social media for everyone to enjoy.

The President has two Bernese mountain dogs, Misneach (as mentioned) and Bród. He previously had another named Síoda who died last year.