Heartbroken couple returned home from the hospital after losing their baby — completely unprepared for their dog's raw reaction

A couple who suffered a miscarriage were already devastated by the loss, but their dog's unexpected reaction broke them even more. A TikTok video, posted on @kimberlyw's page, captured the heartbreaking moment when their dog realized he'd lost his sibling — a moment so touching that it can move even the toughest hearts to tears. The video has been viewed over 11 million times on the profile.

When the couple returned from the hospital after losing their child, they realized their dog, Brookes, was also grieving the loss of his sibling. In fact, he cried while lying on his father's lap. "Our boy felt the same heartbreak as we did," the dog's mom shared. As the man gently caressed him, Brookes lay there quietly with tear-filled eyes. The miscarriage was especially difficult for the family because the couple had to fight years of infertility before finally conceiving their child. However, they soon realized their happiness was short-lived, as they lost their baby even before they could hold their child in their arms.

While some of you may be surprised by Brookes' reaction, research shows that dogs do behave differently depending on their owners' emotional states. For instance, a study on 58 dog–owner pairs measured stress by testing cortisol levels in hair. Researchers also looked at both the dogs' and their owners' personalities and found that a dog's long-term stress level closely mirrored its owner's stress level. Likewise, Deborah Custance and Jennifer Mayer experimented on 18 pet dogs to see if they tried to comfort their crying owners with empathetic behaviors. The experiment took place in the owners' living rooms, where Mayer deliberately ignored the dogs so they would have little interest in her. Next, she and the owner would take turns talking, fake-crying, and humming. It was revealed that 15 out of the 18 dogs approached their owner or Mayer during fake crying. The study suggested that dogs weren't only curious about the noise, but they appeared to notice that crying is a sign of distress and were responding to it, perhaps trying to comfort the person.

Meanwhile, reacting to the TikTok video, @daph.tones shared, "My dog never left my side after I lost my baby. He dried all my tears. He'd nudge me to get me out of bed and onto the couch. He kept me on a schedule. I have no doubt that if he knew how to cook, he would've made me food." Similarly, @..gigi06 shared, "After my miscarriage, one of my family’s cats that didn’t like anyone came up and sat on my lap as I was bleeding in the bathroom; since then, she and I have a bond. I don’t know how she knew, but they know." @llrmegbenham wrote, "Oh, I'm so sorry for your loss. Your big baby wanted that little baby, too. I'm so sorry you're having to feel this, but I'm glad you aren't feeling it alone." @just. A communist confessed, "I've never seen a dog so devastated in my life; I hope you all can heal together."

You can follow @kimberlyw on TikTok for more dog-related content.

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