Why Are Tiki the Foster Dog's Eyes Shaved? His Superhero Mask Has Fans Delighted

When animals spend a long time in the shelter or come from an unstable background, learning to trust can be a mammoth task. Teaching them to accept kindness without lashing out or shutting down can be herculean. This is perhaps especially true of highly intelligent pets like dogs and parrots, who have a long memory and the ability to defend themselves if they feel threatened.

Tiki the Foster Dog is one such animal sensation on TikTok whose past experiences taught him to simply shut down and avoid human contact. Through the love of his foster mom, Isabel Klee, he is undergoing a remarkable transformation. But while watching him, many viewers had the same question: Why are his eyes shaved? Here's what we know about Tiki's unique superhero mask look and his story so far.

Tiki appears to be some sort of dachshund mix with a pretty red and sable coloring. Along his chest and neck, he has white markings. On his head, a thin dark line divides his forehead, leading down into a surprisingly light patch that covers both eyes like a superhero mask. At first glance, it looks like he's simply got a light patch of fur around his eyes. However, if you look a little closer, it's clear that the skin has been shaved. But why?

One TikToker was curious and decided to do some sniffing around to figure out why Tiki's distinctive superhero mask is shaved. User @yaptastik explained that they found a number of suggested searches in Tiki's videos that read along the lines of, "Why are Tiki's eyes shaved?" But unfortunately, the suggested search yielded no real answers. So @yaptastik found the answers themself.

According to the TikTok user, Tiki's foster mom Isabel explained that the pup had to undergo "cherry eye" removal surgery. "Cherry eye" is a condition where the inner tissue of the eye prolapses outward over the eye, causing vision issues, per VCA.

In order to perform the procedure, it's routine to shave the areas around the eyes. Which would, indeed, explain Tiki's distinctive mask appearance.

Now that the mystery of Tiki's mask is solved, what do we know about his story in general? Luckily, Isabel has documented his story since coming to her home. So, while there may be questions about what Tiki experienced before winding up at Isabel's house, we at least know what he's been up to since.

In late April 2025, Isabel shared that she was taking on her "potentially most difficult foster dog yet." According to the video, Tiki was part of a criminal seizure and came into the ASPCA with a number of other dogs. She declined to share the backstory that led to Tiki's seizure, but seemed uncertain as to what to expect when she received him.

When she finally laid eyes on Tiki, what she found was a quiet and "shut down" dog, whose fear and uncertainty led him to trying to shut out all attempts to befriend him.

However, after about two weeks, he started to come out of his shell. With patience, kindness, and understanding, Tiki started to come around.

After a few weeks, Tiki even seemed to be relaxing and learning to play and enjoy life.

It's a remarkable transformation for a dog whose history seems to have some dark moments. While his shaved mask will likely eventually grow in, the superhero appearance seems apt.