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Woman Accused Of Animal Abuse After Giving Her Dog Fake Nails

Woman Accused Of Animal Abuse After Giving Her Dog Fake Nails

Would you do this to your dog?

Laura Sanders

Laura Sanders

A nail technician from California has been accused of animal abuse by TikTok users after giving her pet chihuahua false nails.

Coco the chihuahua, five, has gone viral after showing the fake nails off on TikTok, which are made by her owner Maritza Rubalcava, 25.

The nail technician spends up to 40 minutes carefully crafting the sets of claws for Coco to model in cute videos to post on social media - which have racked up over three million views.

Maritza clarified the nails are just for show in the pictures and videos - and come straight off once she's done.

Maritza, from California, US, said: "Coco is my baby and one night my husband and I were talking and we thought it would be so cute to make her some tiny fake nails.

Maritza Rubalcava with her dog Coco.
Mercury Press

"She loves being pampered so she really enjoys the process of me sticking the nails onto her claws with adhesive pads.

"Coco just models them for pictures because they're obviously really not practical for a dog to wear all of the time.

"It's just a little bit of bonding time with my dog and I really enjoy it."

Mercury Press

Rubalcava has since started selling custom-made fake nails for dogs on her website, which cost around $15 (£10).

She said 25 percent of the profits will go to animal rescue organisation Hope for Paws.

Maritza said: "So many people were requesting them so I decided to create a collection that other people and dogs can enjoy, but I've stressed that they're just a prop."

There are three designs in the collection, which are made to fit 'small dogs'. A disclaimer on her website reads: "Please remember, these nails are only for prop and not for actual wear."

Mercury News

Maritza said: "It's crazy that my videos of Coco and her nails go viral and I never expected them to.

"A lot of people love the idea but some people didn't.

"I had some people who were so shocked at what I was doing but it's just for fun.

"I would never actually do anything to harm Coco."

Featured Image Credit: Mercury Press

Topics: Animals, Dogs, TikTok