A video has gone viral showing a heartbroken man laying with his dying dog during the final week of his life, and there is hardly a dry eye left on the internet.
Katie Ekin, 33, captured the emotional footage of her dad, Gary Ekin, 70, dutifully laying beside the family’s senior dog, Chandler, before he crossed the rainbow bridge. During his final week, Gary lay on the floor beside his pet and provided him with so much love and support.
It broke Katie’s heart to see, but she told Newsweek that her dad just “wanted to make sure they could spend every moment together.”
The family rescued Chandler when he was 6 months old and made countless memories with him. However, by the age of 17, Chandler’s health deteriorated as he became incontinent, slept more and ate less; the vets believed he may have had a brain tumor that was causing Chandler to walk in circles.
“The week before we said goodbye, our vets walked us through a quality-of-life assessment, which helped us realize the changes had gotten to a point that severely impacted his days. We understood it was time for us to prepare to say goodbye,” Katie, from Santa Cruz, California, said.
“Chandler brought a lot of comfort to my dad over the years, especially in his recent retirement. We were lucky to experience Chandler’s unconditional love for so long, and I think this was a way for my dad to give that back to him,” she continued.
It was a devastating loss, especially as Chandler had been part of the family for many years. Katie, who was in high school when they adopted him, said her dad had “a really special bond” with Chandler.
Having lost her own soul dog last year, Katie knew exactly what pain and suffering her parents were going through. She stopped by the house to check in and was so moved by the sight of her dad curled up on the floor beside the rescue canine.
When Katie was grieving her dog, Gary was sure to visit her every day and make sure she was coping. Now it was her turn to repay the favor before saying goodbye to Chandler on May 6.
“Finding him lying with Chandler wasn’t surprising, just a perfect representation of who my dad is. He’s the best human and dog dad, and he cares so much,” she said.
Katie shared the heartbreaking footage of her dad and Chandler on TikTok (@katieekin) shortly after the dog crossed the rainbow bridge. The clip left internet users in tears as it went viral with over 6.8 million views and more than 1.2 million likes on TikTok at the time of writing.
The online reaction is beyond anything Katie could have expected, and she has been blown away by the support.
“I feel like we’ve connected with so many people that understand what a privilege it is to not only be loved by an animal, but to be there for them in their last months or days. We are all bonded through our pets in a way, and seeing that play out through sharing this video is truly remarkable,” Katie said.
For now, the family is trying to adjust to their new normal after losing Chandler. Katie said that he had “the biggest presence,” and they still expect to see the dog walk into a room.
She added that her parents have another senior rescue dog who has been a huge source of comfort during this time.
The video has left social-media users fighting back the tears since it went viral, leading to more than 5,700 comments on TikTok so far.
One comment reads: “No this actually broke me.”
Another TikTok user wrote: “the worst kind of heartbreak. So sorry for your loss.”
A third added: “the anticipatory grief is so hard. the days leading up to the appointment.”
And one comment read: “SOBBINGGGG, that’s his soul dog.”
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