The warm bond between a Staffordshire bull terrier and his feline sibling, a cat named Harley, has melted the hearts of viewers on TikTok.
The unlikely display of interspecies affection was captured in a video and posted to the platform on May 19, by their owner under @bluestaff_riley. The short clip has been viewed more than 20 million times to date, drawing in more than 3.7 million likes from delighted viewers.
TikTok users were able to see Riley and Harley sitting peacefully in the corner of a sunlit garden in England. The cat, perched beside Riley, was recorded gently licking the side of his canine sibling's face. Riley remained still, tail wagging slowly, clearly relishing the attention. Then, in what some viewers have dubbed the "smile," Riley softened his gaze and appeared to beam, the corners of his mouth curling up in unmistakable contentment.
The simple, heartwarming interaction has resonated deeply with pet lovers on the platform. To date, thousands have flooded the comments section with emotional reactions to the duo's bond. Some have poked fun at the viral moment by drawing on the behavioral differences between cats and dogs.
"The tail wag, ears pinned back and smile are hilarious," one viewer said, while another added: "Cat licking dog to establish dominance, dog happy for the attention."
"Please be careful, if the cat keeps licking the pit bull they might form an amazing bond for the rest of their life," a third viewer shared.
"My cat is an inside cat and she beats my [Staffordshire bull terrier] up every time she comes in from outside out of jealousy," one comment said.
"If that isn't the biggest [pit bull] smile I ever did see," another added.
"Eyes closed, tail wagging," one poster said. "That is one happy dog."
"Me giving all my love and care to a man with a bad reputation," another added.
"What a happy couple they even have their own little house," one commenter said.
"If they can get along then so can all humans, I'll never understand," another added.
"Aww they love each other," a third said.
"My dog and cat said this is AI," a fourth joked.
"I have a tuxedo cat and blue bully as well who do this exact thing," one user added.
A different viewer summed up the pair's bond: "I know that cat has the best bodyguard now."
Newsweek reached out to @bluestaff_riley for more information via email.
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