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Pet grief is real.

A TikTok video by Kate Schakols has been seen over 100 million times because it is a touching example of empathy and human kindness. It also shows that a dog who’s lived a life of hardship can find joy and peace when given a loving home.

Schakols and her family fell in love with Rooster, a dog that was estimated to be between 10 to 12 years old, at the Gulf Coast STARS rescue in 2020 and adopted him. Rooster was blind in one eye, had benign lumps and most of his elbow pads and teeth were worn down from digging in concrete for food. "The bond I had with Rooster was unreal," she told People. "I'd never felt that specific type of connection before, and it was obvious to everyone that he had chosen me to be his person."

Sadly, after 28 days, Rooster developed dog bloat and had to be humanely euthanized. Even though their time together was far too short, Schakols was happy to have comforted Rooster in his final days.

pet grief, losing a pet, pet memorial, humane euthanasia, rescue dog "I think I love my mom the most." www.tiktok.com


She told their brief but touching story in a slideshow video (below) from Rooster’s perspective. Rooster is seen rolling in the grass, playing with new siblings, enjoying a car ride, while heartbreakingly sweet messages about "mom" appear onscreen.

"I think I love my mom the most. I hope she knows. She’s love me more than anyone ever has," one reads.

Another says, “She doesn't seem to care that I can’t see very well, that I have missing fur and teeth, and I’m old and lumpy,…She says I’m beautiful every day.”

Then on Rooster's final day, we read “I think it’s time to go. I hope my mom will be okay. I can hear her crying and begging someone named God not to take me.”

“I think it’s time to go. I hope my mom will be okay." www.tiktok.com

By telling the story from Rooster’s point of view, Schakols shows the incredible empathy and understanding she shared with the dog. It also gives people who may not be considering adopting a senior dog, an idea of what it means for an older dog to live in comfort in their final days.

"There’s so many stories of dogs being adopted but passing soon after and I think they finally felt peace and comfort and safe to let themselves go," one person wrote in the comments. "It’s like he held on until he could feel love and joy. When he did he was finally at peace and able to cross the rainbow bridge," another added.

Losing a pet can evoke profound grief, often comparable to the loss of a family member, and it's important to acknowledge and process these emotions. and that's exactly what Schakols continues to advocate for on social media.

@ksam325

#goldenretriever #tripoddog #cancer #bestfriend #

“All I ever want from my page is to encourage people to understand that pet loss is valid and a very real type of disenfranchised grief."

A powerful way to process some of these tough emotions, as Schakols has demonstrated, is to memorialize your fur baby in some way. Be that through a video, making a donation in their name, creating a photo collage. It can be as extensive or minimal as you see fit.

pet grief, losing a pet, pet memorial, humane euthanasia, rescue dog That way a piece of them stays with you forever. Photo credit: Canva

It doesn't take away the pain, per se, but it does make it easier to move through.

This article originally appeared last year

Pets

Family stages an intervention for their dog that only misbehaves around Grandma

“I’m noticing that when your mom is at work, your behavior is getting worse.”

Photo by Michael G on Unsplash

Family stages intervention for their misbehaving dog

Dogs are toddlers in little furry bodies, or at least that how they behave sometimes. They constantly get into things they shouldn't and act like they're hyped up on a batch of Pixy Stix when they are excited about something. Their uncontrollable zoomies can have dogs crashing into walls, furniture and people, without a care in their tiny dog world.

And just like toddlers, their behavior can change based on who's supervising them. In one family, a pit bull named Bishop Ace keeps giving Grandma a run for her money any time she's charged with babysitting him. Jayla doesn't have any human grandchildren and Bishop Ace is her only grand-dog so you'd think he would be nicer to his grandma, especially since he knows how to behave.

Turns out that the pittie has exquisite manners with his mother, Shauna. He loves cuddling with her and listens the first time he's asked to do something, but as soon as mom goes to work, Bishop runs amuck.

But Shauna doesn't believe her sweet little dog could ever do anything as wild as grandma reports, which is exactly why grandma started recording Bishop's hijinks. This is what seems to have led to an intervention with the hyperactive pit bull.

"We want to have a conversation with you," Jayla says. "Because I'm noticing when mom is at work, your behavior is getting worse. You don't listen when grandma says 'drop it,' you run."

Bishop Ace refused to make eye contact for much of the intervention, and when Grandma was done speaking, Shauna gave the obviously guilty dog scratches and denied it was him causing the problem. Even with the video evidence, Bishop Ace is still his mama's baby and can do no wrong in her eyes, so all of Grandma's intervention efforts never work. But if you want to see some adorably hilarious "bad dog" shenanigans you can check out the video from The Dodo below.

This article originally appeared two years ago.

@letsgoripley/TikTok, used with permission

What a smart doggo.

Speech-language pathologist Christina Hunger and her dog Stella were the first to experiment with talking buttons in 2019. Since then there has been a surge of online content showing other pet parents using similar kits to communicate with their own pups.

The most fascinating aspect of this phenomenon is the question of whether or not canines are able to understand full-blown complicated sentences beyond “treat” and “outside.”

While the overall jury is still out on that, scientifically speaking, dogs like Ripley seem to make an incredibly compelling case for believing the hype.

The Australian Shepherd has an entire TikTok account documenting his impressive talk button journey, but a video posted on March 28, 2024, feels next-level.

In the clip, Ripley presses the “smell” button as his parents eat lunch. When that doesn’t get their attention, he begins to bark.

“What do you smell?” a voice finally asks. To which Ripley replies “outside,” followed by “gardens.”

Confused, someone asks, “It smells like the gardens outside?”

Ripley’s parents had apparently just started a load of laundry before making lunch, and the detergent had been spilling all over the floor from the washing machine. Ripley had been smelling the detergent, which was reminiscent of the gardens outside.

Unfortunately, they didn’t put two and two together until after they went back to the laundry room. Hence the moral of the story: “You should always listen to your dog.”

@letsgoripley He’s so freakin’ smart! #Talkingdog #letsgoripley #ripleytalks #fluentpet #australianshepherd #dogs ♬ original sound - Ripley the Australian Shepherd

Ripley’s amazing feat prompted lots of praise from viewers.

“All of the treats,” one person wrote.

Another added, “I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again, he is brilliant.”

Others were quick to compliment the breed. And rightfully so, as Australian Shepherds are known for their remarkable intelligence, as well as their strong drive and exuberance, according to the American Kennel Club. They thrive when they have a job, and the way Ripley jumped into action is a pretty great example of this characteristic.

So, while we might not have definite evidence for the efficiency of talk buttons, one thing remains abundantly clear—our dogs are trying to communicate with us in whatever way they can. All we need to do is listen.

Check out even more of Ripley's talk button shenanigans on TikTok.


This article originally appeared last year.

Dog turns down his owner's pets and the internet is laughing.

Sometimes we're not in the mood to be touched, and the same goes for our pets. While cats are notorious for snubbing humans who dare to touch them without explicit affirmative consent for exactly 3.5 pets, dogs are different. Dogs like to get head scratches, butt pats, and, for some reason, slapped on the ribs somewhat aggressively. I don't know why dog owners do the last one but I've seen it enough to think it's a thing that dogs enjoy.

The point is dogs generally want you to pet them as often as you possibly can, even until it feels like your arms are going to fall off and then some. They try to climb up on your lap because being as close to your cornea as their snouts will allow is comforting to them. But apparently, dogs also get into moods where they don't want to be touched by their humans.

Case in point? Colby, a chocolate lab on TikTok who is simply not in the mood for pets. His reaction to his owner attempting to pet him has commenters in stitches.

Colby looks as if he's trying to relax when you see his mom's hand reach out to pet him. He doesn't break eye contact with his human, Morgyn Seigfried, as he gently pushes her hand away with his back foot. She tries several times, and each time Colby has the same response.

"Let's not make this more embarrassing than it has to be," one commenter wrote.

"He said pet me...WITH YOUR EYES," another person said.

While some were imagining what the dog was saying internally, others just found it hilarious, especially because he uses his hind leg to reject the affection.

"Such a boss move to use the back leg and not the front paw," someone wrote, complete with a crying laughing emoji.

"The fact that he used his rear leg makes the exchange even better," another commenter said.

Colby is clearly over Seigfried's need to touch him, as you can see for yourself below:

@morgynseigfried

looking me dead in the eye too 🥲 #dogsoftiktok #dogs #dogvideos #labsoftiktok #chocolatelab #labrador #dogsoftiktokviral #doglover #doglovers


Sadly, this wasn't the last time Colby curved his owner. Watch below to see him refuse her kisses just a few months after he pushed her away.

@morgynseigfried

humiliating truly #dogs #dogsoftiktok #labrador #labradorretriever #doglover

Don't worry, we're sure Colby loves his human. Sometimes, we need some alone time and while that might hurt a few egos, it's nothing personal.

This article originally appeared two years ago.