A trader purportedly sold his dog for an equivalent of 450 in-game keys to buy an unusual hat in Team Fortress 2, a viral post on social media has revealed, but the trader's response provides at least some context.

A trade between Team Fortress 2 traders OrangeZest and Gummy involved the former throwing in his "best friend for ten years," a Shih-Poo dog named Sky, as a substitute for 450 keys, equivalent to approximately $960 USD.

News of the controversial trade went viral after X / Twitter user @SirDapper posted screenshots of a chat conversation between the traders, also available on Team Fortress 2 trading hub Backpack.tf.

The trade, which took place on Sunday, involved Gummy selling a unique in-game cosmetic item, an all-class unusual hat with a valued effect and an estimated price of over $10,000 USD, for a range of other cosmetic items, and the dog thrown in on top.

After some bargaining, OrangeZest allegedly agreed to let his dog go for 450 in-game keys.

The post quickly went viral on X / Twitter, where it drew criticism over its apparent cold-heartedness from both sides of the deal.

OrangeZest, the trader who sold the dog, later made a forum post providing context for the situation. According to the post, shared on the Backpack.tf forum and seen below, he was struggling to take proper care of his elderly dog Sky after his parents moved oversees, and that Gummy, who is an real-life friend of OrangeZest, had been helping him with the dog.

OrangeZest also wrote that if Gummy was not available, he would have been forced to give up Sky for adoption, and that "[Sky] would definitely get a far better quality of life by living in a home where people can take care of him."