The internet is in shock after a man shared the unusual “message” he got from his late pet while watching TV
Max Clayton explained in a viral TikTok video how he had lost his dog earlier that day. Devastated, he sat down to watch Family Feud on the TV when one particular question left him laughing so much he was in tears.
With 1.7 million views, Clayton, who is an actor in New York City, explained: “It has truly been the worst day ever. I just got back from the vet, we put our dog down.”
He continued: “I’m only making this video because I was like, I just wish he could send me a sign that he’s OK. And I turned the TV on…”
A rerun of an episode of Family Feud was on the TV, and to Clayton’s shock, the question was: “Name something a dog might say he wants to be buried with.”
In an instant, Clayton spun the camera round to himself, not believing what he was hearing.
This was when the last answer was revealed, and unbelievably the contestant got it right with “his owner.”
“That ain’t a sign—that’s a threat,” joked TikTok viewer lildelicious69, while TikToker Jessi Canales said: “He really said, ‘listen…I’m fine, but hear me out….What would make it really great…’”
Hearing the unusual Family Feud question on the rerun comforted the grieving owner, who explained that he and his late dog used to watch the show together frequently.
Of course, it is quite unlikely that the answer on Family Feud was really a sign from Clayton’s late dog. Instead, there is much more likely to be a psychological explanation.
Apophenia is a term used to refer to the tendency of humans to perceive meaningful patterns, connections or significance from unrelated data.
A natural part of human cognition, apophenia is a term first coined by psychiatrist Klaus Conrad in 1958. He defined it as an “unmotivated seeing of connections [accompanied by] a specific feeling of abnormal meaningfulness.”
Thought to be the brain’s natural way of trying to make sense of an uncertain world, it explains why people may see coincidences as meaningful, interpret random occurrences as signs, or believe that certain events are somehow connected—even when there is no objective basis for these interpretations.
Regardless of the reality behind the coincidence, it was clear that it had made a bad day a little better for Clayton.
In a later comment, he wrote a message to his beloved dog and said: “I love you, Jakey. Thanks for looking out.”
Newsweek reached out to Max Clayton via email for comment.
Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to [email protected] with some details about your best friend and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.
The post Grieving Man Claims Dog Sent Sign via ‘Family Feud’ From Beyond the Grave appeared first on Newsweek.
