Heartbreaking photo shows dog comforting herself after thinking she was left alone

Luna is a bull terrier who became a viral sensation when the particular way she consoles herself after her owner leaves the house hit the Internet.

In the post uploaded to her own Instagram account, the dog appeared laying on her bed surrounded by a couple of shoes that belonged to Justin, her owner. Luna was looking up at the camera showing how happy she was.

Justin explained that the fact that there were four shoes around her was very interesting as Luna usually does the same with only one. In an interview he had with Fox News, he revealed that this uncommon situation happened when nobody was home with her.

He said that his wife and children were out of town and that went out to buy something, too, for about 30 minutes. Unfortunately, Luna panicked and thought that the entire family abandoned her for good, so she did her “ritual,” but instead of one, she dragged four shoes.

In the caption of the post, the man wrote a poem. One of the best parts of it says that Luna never chews the shoes as she just places them around her bed so that the smell of Justin surrounds her. “n then I heard his FOOTSTEPS – that’s the sound I like the best! [sic],” finished Justin in the caption.

The man revealed that Luna survived an illness that has killed a lot of dogs in the past couple of years: immune-mediated hemolytic anemia. It causes dogs’ immune systems to attack healthy red blood cells.

“She is the sweetest most gentle dog with our children and has the most vibrant personality. We feel blessed to have her. She loves long walks around the block, sunning on the deck and hoarding our shoes on the rare occasion that she has to lounge around the house by herself,” revealed Justin.

Luna’s behavior when Justin leaves home is another proof that dogs are indeed men’s best friends, and that they get really depressed when nobody is around. Daily Mail shared the results of an investigation that addressing what happens when people leave their dogs at home alone.

The research revealed that the first minutes of isolation are the most stressful for the pets. The most common thing they do is showing destructive behavior, which is often targeted at the door the owner leaves through.

Apart from that, they howl, bark, defecate, and urinate. While less common, isolated dogs might show self-mutilation, excessive salivation, repetitive behavior, and even vomiting.

For the next couple of hours, most dogs would show anxiety by spending less than a minute resting before getting up and moving again.

“It's important not to punish your dog if he has gone to the toilet or being destructive whilst you are out as likely to make him feel more anxious about being left alone and can damage your relationship,” revealed Alice Potter, a pet scientist at the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

She added that the dogs are more likely to relax and behave in a much calmer way if they were fed and exercised before their owner left them alone, so creating a routine based on this might be very helpful for them.