Hearts Break as Dog Grieves Loss of Sibling and Watches Over Her Puppies

A social media video of a dog mourning the loss of his sibling and watching over her puppies has tugged at heartstrings across the internet.

The viral video, which has been viewed by more than 62,000 internet users to date, captured Kong the cane corso dog snuggling up to his late sibling's puppies and it seems to shed a light on the emotional depths of dogs.

"Kong's really struggling with the loss too," the video's creator, who doubles up as the dogs' owner and the puppies' breeder, wrote across the post.

The creator, who goes by Kee on TikTok, added that it's very rare to see a male dog climbing into a puppy pen with a litter of baby dogs. The female dog that had passed away was called Nirvana. Kee, who's based in Rotherham, shared in a different post to the same account that Nirvana had died from bloat, less than a fortnight after giving birth to five healthy dogs.

Gastric dilatation-volvulus (GDV) or "bloat" is a serious condition and is fatal if left untreated, the Veterinary Medical Center of Central New York writes online. It occurs when a dog's stomach fills with gas, food, or fluid and subsequently twists.

"Kong, our male has been with Nirvana from birth. He came over from Romania with Nirvana from the same breeder and they have been inseparable ever since. Since she died, Kong's not been the same dog. This morning I came downstairs to find him with her babies," Kee wrote under the post.

Each year, 6.3 million pets are surrendered to U.S. shelters, which is an average of 17,260 a day, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The number of dogs and cats taken in by pet shelters hit 46,807 during January 2023, an increase of 1,744 compared with January 2022, the 24Pet 'Shelter Watch Report' found.

Around 920,000 surrendered animals are euthanized every year. Shelters are striving to minimize euthanasia rates by promoting adoption campaigns, spaying and neutering programs, and behavior rehabilitation.

What Do the Comments Say?

Since it was shared to the social media platform on September 14 by @Kees_Cane_Corsos, the TikTok post has been liked by over 1,800 users and commented on more than 90 times.

"What an amazing boy he is. Dogs feel the same way that we do. They are amazing animals," one user wrote.

Another user added: "So sorry for your loss."

The TikTok post can be seen here.

Newsweek reached out to @Kees_Cane_Corsos for comment via TikTok.

Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.