A dog’s adorably excited reaction to seeing their owner’s toddler return from a day at nursery is delighting pet lovers on social media.
There are few things more satisfying for a dog owner than the sight of their pooch greeting them when they return home from a busy day.
It would appear that the feeling is mutual. Back in 2015, researchers at Emory University scanned dogs’ brains using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) technology to monitor their response when shown pictures of dogs faces, human faces and ordinary objects.
What they found was that the canines’ temporal lobes lit up “significantly more” when looking at the faces rather than the ordinary objects. This indicates that dogs are capable of recognizing human and dog faces.
The study found the sign of a human face opened up a region of the temporal dog cortex separate to the “reward areas” of the brain triggered by food. The conclusion being that when dogs get excited about seeing their humans it comes from a place of genuine affection rather than an underlying sense they will be fed.
All of which makes the sight of Rosie, a Rhodesian Ridgeback and Staffordshire Bull Terrier mix, dancing around as her owner’s daughter returned home that bit more special. The video can be watched here.
The heartwarming clip of the canine frantically darting from side to side as the young girl makes her way up the stairs toward her, laughing happily all the way, was shared to TikTok by Tanisha Bolton, who wrote alongside the video: “We don’t deserve dogs.”
Responding to one comment on the video, Bolton revealed that Rosie is a “rescue pup” who “had a hard life” before finding happiness with her family, which only adds to the adorable nature of the footage shared online.
It certainly struck a chord with dog lovers on TikTok, with the video racking up over 8.8 million views. Commenting on the clip, one user posting as WelshSteel88 said: “Nothing melts my heart so much as kids and dogs playing together.”
Banter bear, meanwhile, joked: “Genuinely don’t know who’s more excited.” Twigsberries declared: “that is honestly the best friendship they will have ever,” while Poison-Ivy-5113 said: “This put a massive smile on my face.”
Michael Higginson said he “decided my daughter is having a dog” after watching the video with TomTroy2005 branding Rosie an “amazing dog.”
“These two look like they have an unbreakable bond,” he added.
Bloxy81, meanwhile, was impressed at the way Rosie was “smart enough to wait and not come bowling down the stairs and risking knocking little one over” describing them as “a beautiful pair.”
Newsweek has contacted Bolton for comment.
Aleksandr Zotov/Getty
