PAWLEYS ISLAND -- A Pawleys Island pooch is gaining international attention. This week, a video of Madeline the dachshund chasing a ghost crab on the beach went viral. The chance encounter has been viewed more than 700,000 times on YouTube and shared by major news outlets.
"Sunday, 'Good Morning America' called us and asked if they could use it," said owner Jason Wheeler. "I was like sure."
Wheeler and his girlfriend, Emma Crompton, look after the Madeline together at their Pawleys Island beach home.
"My mother actually saw the video for the first time a few months ago and she made a joke that this is going to be on the 'Today Show', and sure enough, Madeline made it to the 'Today Show'," said Crompton. "I watch those shows every morning with Madeline."
Crompton and Wheeler rescued Madeline when she was just three months old. She's now two-years-old.
Wheeler posted the video in August of 2011 and before this week, the video only had 50,000 hits.
"My YouTube email is full from people leaving comments and asking for permission to post it," said Wheeler. "I've had a show from Japan ask if they can use it. I don't know what a show in Japan is going to do with it."
"It was definitely surprising to see to see how popular it became all of the sudden," said Crompton. "I think she was just trying to make a new friend. I'm not sure if the crab was trying to make a new friend, but I'm pretty sure Madeline was just trying to play."
Madeline and the ghost crab played on the beach for nearly 20 minutes before he got his camera to film the now famous encounter, said Wheeler.
"I'm lucky that I had a camera near by because I do this for a living and I just happened to grab it and go out and catch a fun little video," said Wheeler. "It makes you feel good when someone leaves a comment and says 'Hey, this made my day'."
"She is my little girl and we do spoil her," said Crompton. "She is my whole world. So it's really cool to get to see her on television,"
"To see that's she famous and not have any clue that's she famous, that's pretty funny," said Wheeler.
Check out the YouTube video of their dachshund, Madeline, chasing the crab.
