A family dog had the most heartbreaking of reactions to his human mom bringing home her newborn baby for the first time.
Heather Frost shared footage of her pug Gus’s reaction to meeting her son in a video posted to her TikTok account heather.frosty. At the time of writing, it has been watched over 1.5 million times. Much of that is down to Gus’s reaction on the video.
It’s not uncommon for pets to fill the role of child in an owner’s life. In 2021, a survey of 2,000 pet owners conducted by Talker Research on behalf of the pet food brand I And Love And You, found 61 percent of respondents consider their pet to be their child.
The poll also found that around four in 10 pet parents surveyed got their pet as a “starter child” to see if they were ready to have kids.
While it’s unclear if Gus ever occupied the role of de facto child in Frost’s life, it’s clear they have shared a special bond that was formed almost immediately.
“My sister was shopping for a pug puppy and my husband and I tagged along to help her pick one out and play with the puppies,” Frost told Newsweek.
“As soon as we saw the litter of pugs we knew we were not going home empty handed. Gus wandered up to my husband wagging his tail and snorting with excitement. We knew he was meant for us and Gus came home with us that day!”
In many ways Gus is your typical dog. “Gus loves to chase the squirrels around in our backyard, he loves treats, howling, road trips, camping and snuggles,” Frost said. “During his downtime, you can usually find Gus sitting in the sunlight or next to our fireplace.”
There is one area of Gus’s life, however, in which he has more in common with a human child than a dog. “He has never used a dog bed, he prefers our bed or the couch,” Frost said.
Maybe that’s why he reacted in the way he did after Frost came home from the hospital with her first child, her son, a couple of years ago.
According to Frost, up until the moment she was admitted to hospital, Gus had slept in her arms “every night since he was a puppy.” So, when she returned after three days in hospital with a baby in tow, Gus was understandably shocked.
“I saw Gus when I walked in the door and he came up and sniffed me and looked at the baby in my arms,” Frost said. “A few minutes later I realized he wasn’t in the room. We searched the whole house for him and found him behind a chair in the nursery.”
Heather Frost captured her pug Gus’s reaction to her newborn baby on camera. It’s fair to say he wasn’t happy.
TikTok/heather.frosty
Frost’s video captures the moment Gus was found hiding behind the chair, evidently confused at this major change to the family dynamic. “Gus looked distraught and would not look me in the eyes or come out from behind the chair,” Frost said. “We spent everyday together and I had never been away from him that long before. I think Gus seeing me come home with a baby confused him and he didn’t know how to react. He was not happy.”
Frost was worried and even considered whether it was worth taking him to the vet. “After checking him out and giving him some treats I realized that he was just overwhelmed and couldn’t accept there was a new baby in the house,” she said.
Though she admits it took Gus a week or two to adjust, he eventually went back to being his normal loveable self having realized “everything was going to be okay.”
Fast-forward a couple of years and Gus now shares the house with two “siblings” who Frost insists are his “best friends.”
“They are inseparable,” she said. But while there is lots about Gus’s life that has changed, one thing remains the same as ever: he still doesn’t do dog beds.
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