“The moment he’s been dreaming about.” This is but one of the quotes that accurately described the scene that has warmed many hearts on TikTok this week. Almost two months away, and the dog just can’t contain himself now that his owner has finally returned home, reads the caption of this video post on the @mozysmumma account.
First, he’s lying patiently under a tree, his eyes drifting elsewhere. Then he changes, his eyes fixed elsewhere, his legs come to life, and he darts to the door. He looks in through the glass, his tail ready to wag as soon as the door opens. The door opens, and he leaps in, heading to the camera with exuberance. “Did you see his face change when he realized who was back?,” says a text comment.
This change in facial expression is not just adorable – it’s also representative of the great bond that is created between these canine creatures and his human. Science has shown that these creatures actually do form this attachment relationship that specifically mirrors that of a baby and his or her caregivers. They want to be around their human, be comforted by his or her presence, and appear to suffer from separation anxiety if he or she is not there. As demonstrated in this scientific study found in PLOS One, “dogs are dependent on human care and their behavior seems specifically geared to engage their owners’ care-giving system.”
There are quite complex scientific underlying principles in all those instances of reunions. Dogs do not only recognize their owners but, in fact, their owners are those they can smell; this sensation is much keener than that of the human sense of smell. Memories based on identified smells can lead to a powerful memory of emotion that can help a dog recognize a loved one that he was separated from long ago. It was found that the dog can process information on the human recognition of their facial features, their body language, their tone, as well as their smells, in order to process how he would behave afterwards. In other words, in the context of the video example that can be seen here, there can be expected something much more than the recognition of owning; there can be the recognition of the importance of that reunion.
Comments appeared with reactions that included the happiness that the dog was feeling. “awwwww precious baby,” one individual responded. “wow just wow,” a individual short-ripped. Individuals picked out elements of his astonishment when he appeared to question the reality that he was in. “Caught ur scent and was doubting himself for a second,” one individual pointed out. Individuals also shared their own individual experience in relation to their emotional response to the video, “Lump in my throat the size of an apple. Dogs are the best.”
This type of reunion does much more than provide material for a viral video. These reunions actually enhance the power of the human-animal relationship. These positive interactions can enhance the levels of oxytocin in both the human and the animal. The oxytocin is linked with the secretion of love and trust. Research on attachment also shows that the more time the owners spend with their dogs, particularly interacting with them, the stronger the attachment will be.
This, for the dog, leads to the development of a “secure base” from which the dog can explore its surroundings without fear. To the members of the family, it presents itself as a source of companionship, comfort, and, most significantly, a type of love without any qualifications or performance. This was also verified in a recent research in the Basque Country, which asserted a positive element in dog owners over owners of cats on the parameter of attachment, where spending more time over the weekend together was one of the top variables.
When a dog recognizes its person after a period of absence, it is more than a pleasant recognition after all, it requires memory, and it requires recognition, and it requires trust, which has developed over a series of common experiences. The sudden shift on his face in that TikTok video is more than a recognition of a friendly face it is something else, a recognition/sensing of a safe and a loved and a whole experience. And for us viewers, it is the magic with which the dog has integrated itself within our souls.
