Mom Caught Crying Over Prospect of Losing Golden Retriever Goes Viral

A video of a woman overwhelmed by emotion at the thought of her daughter's golden retriever dog being put down has gone viral on TikTok, where it received over 492,000 views and 71,000 likes at the time of reporting.

The footage shared by TikTok user @kavsingh12, which has not been independently verified by Newsweek, was overlaid with a message that read: "My mom crying because she's thinking about the day Leroy dies," as the woman is seen wiping tears from her face.

According to a December 2020 study published in the peer-reviewed journal Scientific Reports, the unique relationship between dogs and their human caregivers bears a "remarkable resemblance" to the attachment bond seen between human infants and their mothers.

The study said: "Dogs are dependent on human care and their behavior seems specifically geared to engage their human partner's caregiving system."

According to a June 2021 study published in the peer-reviewed journal Current Biology, research has shown that "domestic dogs exhibit functional similarities to human children in their sensitivity to cooperative-communicative acts."

Similar to human children, dogs are "sensitive to ostensive signals marking gestures as communicative, as well as contextual factors needed for inferences about these communicative acts."

Over 40 percent of the variation in dogs' "point-following abilities and attention to human faces was attributable to genetic factors," the study found.

In a choked up voice, the mom in the latest TikTok post was heard saying: "I didn't even want to like you, now you stole my heart...I don't want to lose you," while looking at the dog sprawled across the floor on the opposite side.

The user's 2-year-old golden retriever then moves to go sit in front of the woman, inching closer towards her as she caresses its head and says: "I don't want to lose you."

Newsweek has reached out to @kavsingh12, the original poster, for comment.

Several TikTokers were moved by the latest viral post, with some recalling the pain of losing their own dogs.

In a comment that got 2,949 likes, user NeverGoing2GiveYouUp said: "We've all done that. They really do steal our hearts."

In a comment that got 1,605 likes, TikToker user5905368278953 wrote: "I put my dog down 2 weeks ago. Trust me... the crying gets worse."

User onscorrect said: "He goes to console her. Man, we don't deserve dogs," in a comment that got 1,082 comments.

Essjay said: "ah this is pulling at my heart strings, I hope he lives the longest healthiest life," and Jayjay asked: "WHY DID THIS START MAKING ME CRY TOO!?! OMGGG NOOOO."

User McPbsKids wrote: "This is beautiful. What a lovely mom and dog," while user3969442576185 said: "All those who love a dog can sooooo relate to this."