'Grieving' Dog Refuses to Move From Usual Spot As It Mourns Late Owner

The heart-wrenching moment a dog sat grieving by his late owner's chair has broken hearts online, after racking up three million views.

TikTok user @almostcoolmom shared the emotional moment she found her late mother's dog refusing to move from beside her chair, just days following her passing.

The eight-year-old Australian Terrier Angelo had @almostcoolmom "in tears" with his grief, as she warned viewers that they "may want to grab tissues too."

"I had been going in and out of the garage and I couldn't find my mom's dog and then I saw him sitting between my mom's mattress and her old chair," she said in the clip, documenting the puppy between the two objects.

"That was exactly where he used to sit at her apartment," he recalled. "He wasn't trapped but he didn't want to leave. It had been just a few days since she passed away."

Angelo sat in "his spot" and didn't move once, unless to glance over at the recliner chair with so many memories.

Viewers of the clip had their heart strings pulled by Angelo and his apparent grief, as they rushed to the comments with messages of emotion.

"When he looked towards the chair my heart broke," wrote one user. "He doesn't know what happened, poor animals they keep waiting," added another.

For the experts, there's still no definite answer on whether or not animals truly grieve.

The pets often show behaviors similar to that of the human grieving process, according to the American Kennel Club. Dogs will often suffer an appetite loss, activity decrease, loss of interest in their usual activities, and moping.

It's clear that dogs do show these emotions and behaviors after suffering the loss of a loved one or companion pet—a 2022 study found that nearly 90 percent of dogs went through grief after losing a companion pet.

What experts aren't completely sure on exactly is why they go through these behavioral changes.

Some suggest that pets do indeed notice the absence of their owner and miss them, while others suggest the alterations to their daily routine lead to the change or that they are simply responding to the display of grief by humans in their household, as reported by VCA Animal Hospitals.

Despite this, Angelo's emotions are clear to his family—he's grieving the loss of his beloved owner and they are doing everything they can to make it better.

According to updates posted by @almostcoolmom, Angelo is settling in and the recliner now has pride of place inside the house. "Angelo likes having the chair inside, but usually lays next to it unless I pull him up there with me," she said.

"I'm sure he's wondering why mom's not here, but he's doing well overall," she added.

Sadly, Angelo is now facing health problems of his own after an ultrasound gave "concerning results" and found a tumor on Angelo's liver which "could be benign," while he also appears to be developing Cushing's disease (also known as hypercortisolism and hyperadrenocorticism) and has problems with his prostate.

Thankfully, he has his family with him through these double-whammy of hard times, and "mom knew we'd love and care for him if anything happened to her," said @almostcoolmom.