Family watched their loyal dog refuse to leave his owner’s coffin — but nothing prepared them for the devastating twist the next day
Nothing in the world can deter a dog’s loyalty to its owner. When a family grieved the loss of a member, they did not expect the late owner’s dog to be so devastated. They tried to comfort him with all the love and support as the poor pup mourned, but nothing seemed to work. The pet dog and his master were inseparable, and he would follow him around everywhere like his shadow. The morning after the owner’s passing, the dog named Oyo shocked the family with a heartbreaking twist. A TikTok post shared by @princeandprincess_13 offered a rare glimpse into the dog’s grief as he sat crying near his owner’s casket.
The viral clip with 1.8 million views showed the grieving dog breathing heavily as he looked up at the casket, longing for his late owner. “‘Late night finds’ but it’s my uncle’s dog grieving for his death, and followed him the next day,” an overlay text revealed. The family had tried everything, but Oyo just would not be consoled. The day after the owner’s wake, the pet dog also crossed the rainbow bridge to be with his beloved owner. “Some may call it illness, others heartbreak, and truthfully, I cannot say for certain. What I do know is that their bond was real and deep, one that even death could not break,” the dog owner’s niece, who remained anonymous, told Newsweek.
The family could not have guessed the extreme outcome, but they were not completely surprised because of the deep bond Oyo and the owner shared. The niece shared that the dog would never leave his side, no matter where he went. Eventually, he fell sick, and his untimely demise was too much for the pup to handle. “Even before my uncle passed, when he was in and out of the hospital, Oyo already seemed affected,” she added. The neighbors had informed the family that Oyo would be waiting at the door for the owner to return and sometimes would wail for him. When his owner was brought back home in a casket for his wake, Oyo struggled to cope and sat by his side all night long, mourning the loss.
The dog was “lost” and barely ate anything, the niece revealed. He wept and stayed beneath his owner’s coffin. The pet’s sudden demise came as a shock, but the niece felt it was a painfully beautiful thing to witness. A moment of “love, loyalty, and anguish” that no other bond can compare. The post was liked by 345,000 people as it resonated with fellow pet owners and dog lovers. “You can never convince me they don’t have feelings. I would have been hugging and consoling him,” penned @loosinduhh and @ragenrelax noted, “I’ve never seen a dog sob like that before. His poor heart was shattered.”
Vet surgeon Dr. Neerja Muncaster explained that animals exhibit significant behavioral and character changes when someone they are attached to dies. “These changes can trigger physiological changes that can lead to the deterioration of that animal's health.” Heart failure due to stress is prevalent in humans, but there’s no scientific evidence to back the phenomenon in animals, per Many Pets. However, there is plenty of anecdotal evidence to prove that when a pet experiences broken heart syndrome, and follows their owner’s passing.
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