When animals are feeling emotional, they’ll often show their feelings with no reservations.
Sometimes, though, these emotions look different than the ones we humans display. Because of that, we sometimes don’t understand what emotion an animal is showing us.
When humans are overcome with emotion, we sometimes take things to the extreme.
Whether it’s punching a wall out of frustration or anger, screaming aloud because we’re scared, or laughing uncontrollably, we sometimes do big things to show our emotions. If there’s one common reaction that all of us experience, it’s crying.
But it turns out that humans are not the only living things in the world that cry when overwhelmed with certain emotions.
In the video below, a mother dog reunited with her lost puppies, and she does something unexpected and incredibly touching. She cries real tears! It’s a precious moment that made me love dogs even more.
While many people loved seeing the reunion, there were a lot of questions about if dogs can actually cry.
“I don’t know if tears are coming from this dogs eyes because of emotions, but surely we all can agree that dogs do indeed have emotions,” one viewer wrote.
But another viewer had a different opinion:
“I’ve had my German Shepherd dog 3 years now and have only seen tears 4 times. 2 times over a year ago when he got in big trouble and I was mean to him. And the other two was immediately after his best friend left my house. It is 100% not a medical issue. He even acted depressed. I truly believe some dogs can cry”
Now, it’s time for the million-dollar question: do dogs actually cry?
And the answer is…yes, technically. Dogs do have tear ducts and do tear up, but tears don’t mean the same things for dogs as they do for humans. Tears are simply a physiological response for dogs.
Rover says:
“While dogs can feel sadness and grief, they don’t actually cry in the same way humans do. In other words, their sad feelings don’t prompt a flow of tears. Humans, in fact, are the only animals on the planet to shed tears as a result of their emotional state.”
It’s believed that the dog in this video has epiphora, a common eye condition where a dog’s tear ducts get blocked. We’re sure the condition will be treated while she’s in the shelter.
Still, even though the tears in this video may not be because of emotion, it’s clear the mama dog is feeling joy. Just look at the way she holds her babies and her ears perk up. It’s clear this dog is so happy to be with her little ones again.
Check out the video for yourself below!
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Source: Thomas Catterall, Rover
