Dog faces unique challenge during rescue, leaps into river 4 times to 'save Mom'

Dogs being protective is quite a known fact, and it is admirable for us humans to see someone living, breathing, risking their own lives to save ours. However, this brave TikTok dog, Chewy, faced the unique challenge of rescuing his owner. His mother pranked him by deliberately jumping into the river, only to observe if Chewy followed the lead. Little did she know, her trick would bring Chewy a lot closer to her, and she’d be able to recreate her favorite moment at least four different times on the same trip. The video was shared on June 21 on Chewy’s account, who goes by @chewythenewfie, and has since garnered 1.8 million likes and 12 million views on TikTok.

The viral video showed his mother being pushed by a friend into the river, only to see Chewy’s reaction. Unaware that it was all a game to his parent, the dog jumped in without even thinking, and tried to save his owner, who pretended to drown. The minute she leaped with open arms, the dog, nudged by the mother's friend, hopped into the water and hugged his mother, believing that he had saved her. His brave act quickly turned into amusement for the owner, who was on vacation with Chewy and wanted to create a fun memory. Pleased by the dog’s lovely reaction, his mother recreated this concept of fake drowning at least four different times on their vacation.

Dogs show high emotional competence and quick decision-making skills, enabling them to stand up to any danger that their owner might face. The National Library of Medicine posits that they do so by acquiring information from others, observing their facial expression and bodily posture to make a functional decision. These communicative cues, if combined with directional signals, help them perform better in situations similar to Chewy's. The Guardian mentioned that researchers at the Canine Science Collaboratory at Arizona State University found that these protective instincts are natural for dogs. They don’t need the training to be heroes, and they get extremely depressed when they can’t save their favorite people.

In another video shared by the creator on June 23, which received 760k views, the confused dog fumbled when he was made to save both his parents, who jumped, simultaneously, into the water, again, to note who would be rescued first. Chewy first approached his father, then had a sudden realization that made him retreat to rescue his mother first. 

The science behind it says that it is the muzzle area that may help them navigate through different situations. The hair around it, commonly known as Whiskers, is attached to blood vessels that send signals to the brain in high-alert situations. It is highly “suspected” that whisker-induced receptors are critical in their maneuvering around family members. That is why, in many countries, shaving the whiskers is banned. Chewy's courage had people in the comment section go gaga over his life-saving act. "May this kind of dog find me... ASAP," wrote @psycho_unchained. "And that right there is why the dog is your Mom's favorite child," wrote @best.golden.boys. "Dogs are the real definition of love," emphasized @.foryoumylove_ while @britt_steenson_ exclaimed, "We don’t deserve dogs!"

You can follow Chewy at @chewythenewfie on TikTok for more content about his life.