Dog goes for swim in ocean, shock over who’s ready to play

A video capturing an adorable interaction between a dog and seal in Australia has gone viral on TikTok.

The clip was taken by @aimeebelll and has garnered more than 5.2 million views since it was posted on February 8. A caption shared with the post says: “The cutest thing I saw all day.”

The moment was captured in Perth, capital of Western Australia, according to hashtags shared with the post.

The footage shows a seal and a dog swimming around each other in the ocean, dipping in and out of the crashing waves. A note overlaid on the clip simply reads: “Best of friends.” Newsweek has contacted the original poster for comment via TikTok. This video has not been independently verified.

As innocent as the moment in the viral clip may be, the government website for Western Australia’s Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions says that “dogs may disturb seals from resting and recuperating. If a seal feels threatened, it may attack your dog. Some diseases may also be transferred between dogs and seals.”

The department advises: “If you come across a seal when walking your dog, please put the dog on a leash and keep the recommended 30 meters [33 yards] away. If an unleashed dog is causing a problem, contact your local ranger for assistance.”

The heartwarming interaction between the two animals in the video is unsurprising because “dogs can form relationships of comparable qualities with both humans and other dogs,” notes a March 2019 study published in Scientific Reports; “these relationships vary along multiple components across different partners,” the study added.

Stanley Coren is a professor emeritus in the department of psychology at the University of British Columbia, Canada, and is the author of several books about dogs. In a February 2013 article for Psychology Today, Coren said that “although dogs are happiest when they are in a social situation, the species that they are interacting with is less important than the quality of the interactions.”

Coren added: “Dogs that have been properly socialized will congenially approach virtually anything that is alive, regardless of its species, and, unless they receive hostile signals, they will attempt to establish a good-natured relationship.”

‘So Precious’

Viewers on TikTok swooned over the playful moment captured in the viral video.

User @gigih.111 posted: “OK this is actually the sweetest thing i ever seen.”

Denise wrote: “stop i could cry this is so precious.”

User @eebhgalro commented that they are “Just two pups splashing about,” and Anitamaxwyyynn said: “Water pupper and land pupper.”

Leils noted: “The way he looks around for him.”

User @owen_marshalek8 wrote: “The seals just kinda bouncing around him, dogs just more so thinking ‘what is this what is this I needa closer look and a sniff.'”

User celine posted: “the dog thinks that they’re the same.”