Tears as Woman Reveals Why She Hasn't Cleaned Her Car in Months

A video of a pet owner who has delayed cleaning her car out in remembrance of her deceased dog has gone viral on TikTok, where it received 4.9 million views.

The clip shared by TikTok user Nat, which was overlaid with a message that read: "Why don't you clean the car out? It's been almost 3 months." The video various shots of what appeared to be dog fur throughout the interior of the car.

A caption shared with the post read: "maybe one day but definitely not anytime soon. Going in that car smells like gunner still. It was our safe spot. I will never get used to not seeing him in that rear view mirror."

An April 2021 report in the peer-reviewed journal Death Studies said: "Animal owners who experience the death of a beloved family pet or companion animal may experience feelings of grief and loss that are synonymous with the death of a human."

Several studies have shown the positive effect that pets can have on our health, including our emotional well-being.

So it's not surprising that the loss of a dog or other pet can be equally impactful, as shown in the case of a woman in Texas who reported symptoms of a heart attack following the loss of her Yorkshire terrier.

The details of her case were published in the October 2017 issue of the peer-reviewed The New England Journal of Medicine, which stated the woman had takotsubo cardiomyopathy, also known as "broken heart syndrome."

The Harvard Health Publishing website explains: "Takotsubo cardiomyopathy is a weakening of the left ventricle, the heart's main pumping chamber, usually as the result of severe emotional or physical stress, such as a sudden illness, the loss of a loved one, a serious accident, or a natural disaster such as an earthquake." The main symptoms of the condition are chest pain and shortness of breath.

Acute grief following the loss of a pet can last from a month to two months, and on average, symptoms of grief can persist up to a year, psychologist Guy Winch, the author of How to Fix a Broken Heart, said in a May 2018 article for Scientific American.

"Recovering from pet loss, as in all forms of grief, requires us to recognize these changes and find ways to deal with them. We need to seek social support from people we know will understand and sympathize with our emotions and not judge us for them. Many animal clinics offer bereavement groups for pet owners," Winch said.

The latest viral video has seen TikTok users in tears, with several sharing messages of support, sympathy and understanding.

In a comment that received 3,648 likes, Syd wrote: "Pets will give us the happiest days of our lives and the single saddest one," while renata.t7 posted: "I am so sorry for your loss."

Julie Porter wrote: "you don't ever have to clean it out if you don't want to." The original poster replied: "I doubt I ever will. That was his spot and forever will be. thanks for always supporting me."

TikToker taylorbeals840 commented: "it's like once you clean it he is really gone forever."

Newsweek has contacted the original poster for comment.