'I took my dog to the zoo and couldn't believe what happened next'

Zoos are fun experiences for the whole family, but it might be a good idea to leave your pets at home. Taking your children to the zoo for a day out can be a great experience, as not only do they get to see exotic animals up close, but they can also learn all about the importance of conservation and the efforts zoos make to save endangered species. But while zoos are great family days out, one woman on social media has demonstrated that it's probably not a good idea to bring your four-legged friends with you. Dog owner Jesenna Viila posted a video of her small dog, Liika, sitting outside an enclosure at a zoo, and captured the moment something astonishing happened. In the Instagram clip, a snow leopard inside the enclosure could be seen running up to the glass that separated it from Liika. It pawed at the glass and could be seen sniffing around as if it was trying to reach the dog - either to play with it or, potentially, do something more sinister to the tiny pup. Liika, however, was completely unfazed by the interaction. Not only did she barely flinch at the appearance of the big cat, but the dog even turned around and growled at the leopard as if she was annoyed at it being in her personal space. Jesenna captioned the video: "Unfazed. Absolutely unfazed. She is scared of literally everything in the world , but a giant cat didn't make the cut. She even growled back: How dare you disturb my zen time." The woman also uploaded a second video of the encounter from a different angle, which showed the snow leopard leaping over the rocks in its enclosure in order to try to reach Liika through the glass. The second clip was captioned: "Zero survival instinct. She will steer away from random piles on the street, suspicious leftover snowballs, she is scared of literally everything, but she'll growl at a snow leopard like nobody's business." However, many commenters were unimpressed by the videos. Many said that Jesenna was needlessly causing stress to both her dog and the snow leopard, when she could have left Liika at home or at least kept her away from the glass. One person said: "If you take your pet to the zoo, please do not leave them by the glass. This causes certain animals distress (which is exhibited by the snow leopard pawing at your pup). It may look like harmless fun, but it's creating a stressful environment for the animal in the habitat." Another added: "Please don’t treat animals in captivity this way. It may be a source of amusement for you, but it isn't for the animals. Please." A third wrote: "Why are you taking a dog to the zoo? Leave those animals alone. Their lives are hard enough." Taking dogs to the zoo in the UK depends entirely on which zoo or wildlife park you are visiting. Most major zoos in the UK are not dog-friendly, including Edinburgh Zoo, Chester Zoo, Whipsnade Zoo, and London Zoo. In all of these cases, only trained assistance dogs are permitted - and they must follow specific conditions that mean they can't enter walkthrough exhibits that put them in direct contact with other animals. London Zoo's guidelines state: "At London Zoo, dogs and other animals are not permitted, except for certain assistance animals. The risk to London Zoo's animals and the assistance animals depends on the species, current health and security requirements, and history of the assistance animal; therefore, we do not encourage assistance animals other than dogs to enter our site." There are some dog-friendly animal experiences in the UK, though, including Cotswold Wildlife Park and Gardens in Oxfordshire, Golders Hill Park Zoo in London, and Jimmy's Farm and Wildlife Park in Suffolk. In most of these cases, dogs must be kept on leads but are permitted to enter the park. Always check with the zoo or wildlife park you intend on visiting before you bring your dog with you on your trip, as every location will have different rules and guidelines on bringing pets.