A heartwarming reunion between a woman and her senior golden retriever has gone viral, with the emotional moment earning more than 209,000 views on social media.
The TikTok video, shared by Chloe Kelleher (@chloekelleher7), shows her peeking around a corner before surprising her senior golden retriever, Hank.
“My parents said Hank was having a hard time walking lately,” the on‑screen text reads. The next scene shows 12‑year‑old Hank—his face now gray with age—lying on the floor. But the moment Kelleher, 31, greets him, his expression brightens and he slowly pushes himself to his feet.
Hank walks toward her and appears to be smiling. Text layered over the clip explains that Kelleher has been away “for a little over a month and he hasn’t been this excited” since the last time she was at her family’s home. The video then shows the pair embracing, Hank’s tail wagging before he settles back down for more cuddles.
The clip is captioned: “My brain gets so much serotonin when I come home to Hank.”
And the science backs that up. The American Kennel Club notes that there are many benefits to owning a canine. Not only do they provide unconditional love and companionship, which can ease loneliness and encourage movement, but they can also lower blood pressure and even boost oxytocin—the “love hormone.”
A survey, completed by YouGov for Canine Companions, found that even cat lovers agreed that dogs have the ability to improve a person’s life.
The results showed that canines also made their owners happier and gave them a sense of purpose.
TikTok Reacts
The emotional reunion struck a chord with viewers.
One user posted,: “I’m not emotionally stable enough for this video,” and another asked: “Why do they have to age so fast[?] Why can’t they live to 100 human years with us [?]”
A third commented, “You have been the friend he has known the longest,” and a fourth user said: “You made his whole month.”
To Hank, that separation would feel much longer as time passes more quickly for dogs, and this becomes even more pronounced as they age.
Experts at the American Kennel Club say that a canine’s first two years—roughly equal to 24 human years—are followed by additional ones that each count for about five human years. That means a 12‑year‑old dog is comparable to a 74‑year‑old human, and, using that same scale, one human month equals nearly five months in “dog time.”
Newsweek reached out to @chloekelleher7 for comment via email. We could not verify the details of the case.