A man's heartfelt tribute to his late dog who sadly passed away at the age of 15 has touched thousands of hearts online, leaving the internet sobbing.
After saying goodbye to Bella the puggle on November 17, Boo Am Go, 73, has thought about her constantly and always tells her how much he misses her. He's been talking to her every day as he wanders around the house, which undoubtedly feels so empty now without her.
As much as he's searching for signs from Bella, he also wants to send his own messages back to her. His daughter, Grace Go, 39, captured the wonderful moment he went out into the yard and raked the leaves with precision, so they spelled out "BELLA" on the lawn, followed by a love heart.
The gesture left Grace, of New Jersey, in floods of tears, as she told Newsweek it was "the most beautiful tribute" she's ever seen. She explained that he was outside tidying the yard up and chatting to Bella while he was out there, so he created this special homage as he hoped that she would "see it from heaven."
Grace said: "I was in awe because it was just so heartwarming, and I cried so much. It's not easy to rake and blow the leaves and make them into that formation, but the fact he took his time to make it so beautiful just shows how much he loved Bella, and still does.
"He also made an indoor memorial for Bella with her ashes, picture, paw prints, and favorite toys in the family room where they spent a lot of time together. He talks to her and tells her he misses her every day. When he made the leaf tribute, he was talking to her while cleaning up the leaves. He was asking Bella how she was doing and wanted to show her how much he misses her."
Despite it being quite windy outside, the tribute to Bella remains secure as Boo used a water hose to add weight to those leaves and keep them in place.
Grace shared footage of her dad's "way of grieving the loss" of his dog on TikTok (@graceronie) and the clip went viral with over 481,200 views and 146,300 likes already.
As any pet owner would know, losing them is like losing a best friend, but reading all the positive responses and kind words from social media users has been a huge help for both Grace and Boo at this time.
"I never expected this would happen, but the reaction has been overwhelmingly encouraging. We read all the comments together, and my dad felt so much comfort in all the thoughtful messages. Reading the comments and knowing that people can relate to his pain has really helped him cope," Grace told Newsweek.
"We are extremely grateful for all the positive messages and encouragement from so many people. We miss Bella so much, and we want her to know how much we will always love her."
The heartwarming gesture melted many hearts, leading to more than 1,000 comments on TikTok so far.
One TikTok user wrote: "I cried when I saw your sweet dad's face. He's hurting, missing his friend."
Another person added: "Bless him. What a beautiful tribute to Bella."
While one comment reads: "Dogs are so special. They have no idea the impact they leave on us humans."
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.
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