A TikTok video captured the heartbreaking moment a pet parent comforted his anxious dog who was having a bad day.
Brian Hellwig, known on TikTok as @bhellwig33, brought home his pit bull named Remirose as a puppy. He told Newsweek that he tried rescuing, but living with Chihuahuas, he needed to raise a puppy to live with the 5-pound dogs who "run the house." Luckily, Remirose quickly fit into the family and earned the nickname of the big house hippo.
And like her breed, Remirose often acts as the house "protector." However, Hellwig noted that not everyone can be at 100 percent all the time, which is why this pit bull recently needed the roles reversed. The protector needed to be protected.
Hellwig shared in his February 3 TikTok video that, like humans, dogs can have bad days too. He noticed Remirose visibly shaking and as he got closer, she cowered with her head down. This was one of her bad days.
In the clip, Hellwig crouched down to comfort her. He started petting her and kissing her head before he sat there and held her. His touch instantly made the shaking stop. She knew she was safe in his arms.
The video's text overlay reads: "POV. We all have our days. Sometimes the protector needs to be protected."
Hellwig said Remirose has no medical conditions that make her shake like this. Dogs might shake for several reasons—cold, excitement, attention seeking, stress, fear, anxiety, pain or illness. But Hellwig noted that Remirose was "having a bad day like the rest of us in life."
He stressed the video's message was about how "mental health is a priority" for everyone, dogs included. They need to feel loved and protected, just like humans.
"We all need support in this case it was impactful to a lot of people," he said.
TikTok Users Reacts
With over 1.7 million views and 262,700 likes on TikTok, viewers were immediately brought to tears. They couldn't believe his simple touch helped ease her anxiety.
"As soon as you embrace her, she feels safe! My heart," one user wrote.
A second added: "The way the dog stopped shaking instantly as soon as he held him like that we don't deserve these wonderful animals."
Another commented: "The way she looked at you....It broke me. The way she calmed down when you held her....You are her person. Thank you for loving her the way she deserves to be loved!"
A fourth TikTok user posted: "Give this sweet angel a hug from every one of us."
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English (US) ·