When a child moves away for college, it’s always a tough time, and not just for the human family members.
Victoria Gomez left for college.
It was emotional for everyone. But at least Victoria’s parents and brother knew what was happening.
The family’s two rescue dogs, Echo and Toto, were distraught.
Every night, they looked all over their home and were heartbroken when they couldn’t find her.
Echo, the taller, lighter dog, had been in the family for nine years. And during that time, she had barely spent a day apart from Victoria.
Toto was a more recent adoptee. But he had still formed a close bond with her.
Victoria told The Dodo:
“It was really, really hard leaving home, because my dogs are my world.”
They reasoned that she’d be back soon. But the days kept on passing, and Victoria wasn’t there.
Echo was especially having a hard time. She used to follow Victoria everywhere.
Echo and Toto ended up sleeping on Victoria’s bed at night. They missed her that much.
Eventually, they realized the truth. She had moved out.
The dogs got used to Victoria’s absence. But they still missed her like crazy.
And then, six months later, it was finally time for Victoria to return home for a while.
Victoria flew from her college in New York City to her home.
At the airport, she met up with her dad and brother. Naturally, they were so happy to see her. But the best reunion was yet to come.
She told her mom, Katye, when they were close. So Katye brought Echo and Toto outside so that they could see her pull in to the driveway.
The dogs could tell that something amazing was about to happen. They started shaking with excitement.
On the drive back, Victoria was worried. She was thinking that the dogs might have forgotten her or assumed that she didn’t love them anymore.
There was only one way to find out.
The car pulled in. Echo thought that she could see her in the car. So she started barking and straightened up to get a better view.
Then Victoria left the car. Echo and Toto couldn’t believe it.
Victoria ran up to the dogs. Echo broke free from Katye’s grasp and ran to Victoria. The mom let Toto follow.
Both the dogs started cuddling and kissing Victoria. They had huge smiles on their faces.
It was pretty fair to say that the dogs hadn’t forgotten Victoria!
Then Echo rolled over. Her favorite thing was belly scratches from Victoria. At last, she could enjoy them again!
Soon, everyone was back at the dinner table. Echo, predictably, was sticking by Victoria’s side.
Victoria, Echo and Toto’s story then appeared on YouTube. The footage soon went viral. To date, it has gained over 5.6 million views. It also has more than 77,000 likes and 3,400 comments. People have been saying things like this:
Of course, eventually, Victoria had to return to college.
This meant that she had to spend even more time apart from Echo and Toto. But now the dogs knew that she would be back again. And Victoria knew that they wouldn’t forget her!
Videos like this really do prove that dogs do miss us when we aren’t there!
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
