Tears as Owner Spoils Labrador With 'Full Belly' in Her Last Days

An owner sharing her dog's final days has moved the internet to tears, as she confirmed her pet "crossed the rainbow bridge" with a full belly.

Owner Leah shared a heartbreaking clip earlier this month to her TikTok account, @leahpaige08, which chronicles the "adventures of Molly and Douglas," believed to be her other dog.

But it seems after 12 long years, roughly 77 in dog years, Molly passed away.

The American Kennel Club (AKC) stated the average lifespan for large dogs, including golden retrievers and Labrador retrievers, is 12 years.

But they noted the interesting trend among dogs, which sees smaller ones on average live longer than their larger counterparts.

The website said: "This phenomenon has baffled scientists for years, and research has yet to explain the relationship between body mass and a dog's lifespan."

They quoted an an evolutionary biologist at the University of Göttingen, Cornelia Kraus, who theorized "their lives seem to unwind in fast motion."

They claimed scientists had observed that every 4.4 pounds of a dog's mass reduced their life expectancy by around a month.

"The reason why is still unknown, though Kraus puts forward several possibilities, including that larger dogs may succumb to age-related illnesses sooner and that the accelerated growth of large dogs may lead to a higher likelihood of abnormal cell growth and death from cancer," the AKC wrote.

The most common cause of death in dogs is cancer, the AKC said, and while it's not clear what caused Molly's death, an earlier post of Leah's confirmed Molly had arthritis.

Leah shared a fitting tribute to the black Labrador, which has been seen more than 1 million times.

The clip, which can be viewed here, was captioned: "You crossed the rainbow bridge with a full belly and an even fuller heart, thanks for the best 12 years my girl."

The clip shows the beloved pet being fed some fish and chips - a British staple - and a sausage roll from Greggs, a British bakery chain.

Molly also enjoyed lots of scratches and snuggles, along with a walk on the beach where she frolicked in the waves. The moving footage ended with Molly putting her paw on a human hand, suspected to be Leah's.

The bittersweet compilation moved numerous people to tears, as Smithy wrote: "I'm absolutely sobbing. I'm so sorry for your loss. Nothing hits harder than that."

Manda said: "Tears at 8.52 eating my breakfast. Sleep tight beautiful."

Kaz Williams said: "I'm so sorry. Typing through the tears. There is no pain like it and I know that one day I'll share your pain again. All the love in the world."

Leah responded to some commenters, thanking them for their kind words, as she admitted it's the "worst feeling in the world"

Newsweek reached out to @leahpaige08 for comment.