A viral video showing the moment a dog realizes her friend is no longer there has been breaking hearts online.
In the footage on TikTok, which has over 3 million views, dog owner Courtney shared how she and her pup Lily would stop off at a nearby home to say hello to a neighborhood dog.
“Visiting Lily’s fence friend was the best part of our morning walks,” said the text overlay in the video, as she explained that they had been stopping there almost every day for three years to say hello to Butch on their regular route.
In a series of adorable clips, the two dogs wag tails at each other, excited to meet and touch noses each day.
But in a heartbreaking twist, Courtney revealed that their “hearts were left shattered” when they arrived at the house for their usual morning meeting to be greeted by a picture of Butch and his empty harness.
Sad footage shows Lily looking for her friend through the fence, confused. The text overlay read: “We will miss this handsome, gentle boy.”
While not all dogs are cut out to be around other pets, many do build relationships and make friends. One dog was filmed “crying” to visit his canine friend next door, while more heartwarming footage shows how two dogs wait every morning to play with their best friends.
“My heart is broken for Butch’s family,” Courtney wrote on TikTok. “Our walks won’t be the same without him.”
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TikTok Reacts
As well as millions of views, the video gained plenty of comments from people who were equally heartbroken by Lily and Butch’s sad story.
“They definitely put that memorial out for you and her and she knew,” said Noah Pressley.
While Kaitlyn wrote: “That face at the end. My hearts breaking.”
“How does ‘omg cute’ turn into me sobbing during break,” said Dmlazo.
“Omg this is so heartbreaking,” agreed Hollysargent. “I wasn’t expecting to cry today.”
Poster Courtney also left some updates in the comments, including telling viewers: “From my knowledge, he was a healthy 9-year-old doggie. No idea what happened. But I definitely wasn’t anticipating it. Wish we could have said goodbye.”
“It’s almost like she could tell because we haven’t seen him in a few days,” said another reply from the poster. “The memorial they put out crushed me to pieces.”
Others were struck by Lily’s reaction to realizing that her “fence friend” was no longer there. Viewer A wrote: “Devastating. Absolutely devastating. Her look up to her mama is heart shattering.”
Newsweek reached out to @lohveecourtney via TikTok for comment.
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