Where owner finds golden retriever 20 mins after coming home melts hearts

A viral TikTok video melted people’s hearts after a dog couldn’t wait to rejoin his “friends” after three days away from each other.

Dog owner Kellyn Taylor told Newsweek via email that her dog, Rex, has always loved his stuffed animal toys. Ever since he was young, Rex would play with and cuddle them. He even knows his favorites by name with his Texas Tech University Red Raider toy being his go-to. However, when Rex and the family leave the house, Rex is forced to say goodbye to his friends.

In the November 29 TikTok video posted by @therextedshow, the family returned home after three days on the ranch and, like clockwork, the golden retriever immediately went to check on his “stuffies.” Although, Taylor didn’t realize that’s where he went until about 20 minutes later.

Taylor noticed it was eerily quiet and started searching for Rex. It took time to find him as he blended in with all his stuffed animals, but the video shows the moment Taylor discovered him face-deep in his ball pit of toys. She said this was the first time she’d found him hiding amongst them.

He looked to be in heaven, refusing to move as Taylor approached. She asked Rex if he missed his “friends,” and his head immediately popped up. He looked at her as if to say “How dare you make me leave them behind.” Taylor picked up on the fact that Rex wanted his alone time with his friends.

To make it up to him, she started covering him with his toys. This excited Rex as he started moving back-and-forth, tunneling his way to the bottom.

Although this was the first time he stayed in the pit with his friends, Taylor said he had always gravitated toward them as soon as they returned home, pulling them out of the basket.

“After 11 years the basket had grown and overflowed and we never could find a place where [his toys] could all be together,” she told Newsweek. “I saw a dog on TikTok enjoying a ball pit filled with balls and thought he might enjoy the same. I was wrong. He didn’t care for any of the plastic balls. So I decided we would fill the ball pit with all of his toys.”

While it took some time for Rex to realize he could get in the pit with all his friends, he visits them multiple times a day. And now, since he realized he can sleep in there with them, Taylor will likely find Rex in the pit more often.

TikTok Users React

The TikTok video has amassed over 4.2 million views and 675,700 likes as of Monday afternoon, with users flocking to the comments section to share their thoughts on the sweet moment.

“Took me a minute to find his head!! So cute,” one user wrote.

Another posted: “They are having quality time.”

A third commenter posted: “We know where his safe space is.”

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.