Here’s a question for you. Would you exchange photos of your naked body for a puppy? It is, if this matters to you, a very cute puppy — a husky with white fur, blue eyes, and giant paws.
Four college freshmen — Alyson, Courtaney, Kat, and Maria — at the University of Texas at San Antonio thought it was worth it to send the pictures rather than pay the asking price for the animal, $300. Well, actually, the women — roommates who have been living together on campus since January — thought it was worth it to send photos of a friend of theirs to “pay” for the dog. Which we could try to explain, but it’s probably best to just let them tell it.
Okay, how did this start? Which one of you was texting with the guy who told you he’d trade you a puppy for some nudes?
Alyson: I was. I met him in high school.
Can you walk me through how the conversation turned to him asking you for nudes in exchange for a puppy?
Alyson: Well, it started off with him posting on Snapchat that he was selling puppies. I told him that I wanted one and asked how much they were. He said they were $300, and I said, “Whoa, I can’t pay that, that’s too much. Can you just give it to me?” He said, “Maybe payments of nudes?” And I said, “I’m down.” He tried to play it off like if it wasn’t him and said, “Oh, that wasn’t me, that was my friend … but you’re really down?” That’s basically how it happened.
So the guy jokingly, but also seriously, said he’d take nudes for the dog. Is that when you texted the roommate group thread?
Alyson: Maria said she had nudes from another girl, so I wouldn’t have to send my own. She asked the girl she had the nudes from if we could use them, and she let us use them.
What was her reaction, that’s a pretty bold and kind thing for her to let you guys do? Also, what were you doing with her nudes in the first place?
Maria: I texted her beforehand and she was cool about it and said to go for it. She thought it was hilarious. We’re pretty good friends and are comfortable with each other, so she sent them to me before all this to help her choose the best ones for her boyfriend. That’s what friends are for!
I love that. So you sent them to the dude. Was he surprised that you actually came through?
Alyson: He was more impressed than surprised, and he believed it was me since she and I have the same skin tone. I don’t even know if he knows [that they weren’t mine] since he doesn’t have a Twitter.
And then he gave you the puppy?
Courtaney: They had to drive three hours to get it!
Wait the dude did or you ladies did? Was the puppy back in your hometown, Aly?
Alyson: Yeah, we had to go back to my hometown. It was a pretty awkward conversation when we got there; we tried not to stay too long.
Understandable. Now that you have the puppy, how are you guys splitting responsibilities? Also, what did you name him?
Courtaney: Technically, it’s Alyson’s dog and she’s bringing him home for summer. We couldn’t decide on a name … I’m from Alaska and the Iditarod is a really big deal there, so I proposed Balto and we thought it was cute and fitting.
Obviously, this whole thing has BLOWN up on Twitter. What has the reaction been like from people?
Courtaney: It’s been kind of crazy. A lot of people have thought it was hilarious, but others have been pretty pissed off ‘cause they didn’t read the thread where I screenshotted Maria’s tweet about consent, so I’ve gotten a lot of mean DMs. We definitely didn’t think it was going to get this big. I had never had more than, like, 2,000 favorites, so when I woke up with, like, 50,000, I was pretty shocked.
And the dude is still none the wiser, right?
Alyson: I don’t think he knows; he hasn’t told me anything about it.
