Breaking a bone is no fun. Aside from the pain and X-rays, dealing with a bulky cast can feel like torture— especially if you’re a teen on the go.
One active teen recently broke his leg and was stuck hobbling around on a set of uncomfortable, metal crutches. As you can imagine, it wasn’t the best circumstance, but so far, he was making do.
Although most people had shown sympathy for the teen’s plight, one friend went above and beyond in expressing their solidarity— and we have the video to prove it.
In the short clip, you see the teen hobbling through a hallway on his crutches.
After a few seconds, however, you notice he’s being followed by his dog, Sawyer. As the camera gets a clearer view of the sympathetic pup, the teen’s mother bursts into laughter.
The sweet dog is following the teen and copying his broken leg ‘walk’.
The fuzzy canine fake limps— using the same leg and all!
Turns out these dog imitations are more common than I had thought.
Earlier this year, Brittney Schroder and her dog Tater went viral when the pup was filmed hopping on his paw, imitating his owner’s broken-footed manner:
Or this hilarious video, which depicts a great Dane imitating his dad’s lunges while his mom cracks up in the background:
But why do dogs copy these random behaviors? Well, firstly, they’re pack animals, meaning they have a natural desire to want to fit into the group. However, recent studies show to what extent that also applies to their human “pack”.
Scientists have found that dogs yawn when humans yawn, suggesting they can empathize with people. Dogs also develop a bark similar to an owner’s regional accent. “So canines in Liverpool communicate in a higher pitch, for example,” the UK Daily Mail explains.
But, in what seems to be the most cited study describing the canine tendency to imitate humans, the authors suggest dogs exhibit signs of “automatic imitation” — a process that is crucial in the way humans learn.
In the study, owners had to get down on all fours to open a door with either their hand or their head. Some dogs got treats if they imitated their owners while other dogs got treats for doing the opposite action of their owners. Remarkably, even with the bribe of treats, all of the dogs seemed determined to copy their owner’s behavior.
The authors suggest these kinds of findings can be useful in dog training.
“If a pet owner wants to shake hands with his dog, he might be more successful if he extends his own hand to demonstrate,” PetMD explains.
“Then the dog, watching all this, would be more likely to stretch out a paw.”
Since being uploaded, Sawyer’s hilarious act of sympathy has been viewed thousands of times.
Comments on the video read:
“Too funny. Think dog is in solidarity with his friend.”
“Now that’s one genius of a dog.”
“The dog loves the boy. And I think it’s showing the compassion it feels for him by walking with a limp. What a great pet.”
Watch the adorable moment below.
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
