A sweet photo of two dogs cuddling has gone viral, with WeRateDogs joking that they had been reunited after receiving COVID-19 shots.
WeRateDogs tweeted the photo with the caption: “Simba and Cooper are here. They’ve finally been properly immunized. For the first time in almost a year, we hugged. Both are 14/10 heartwarming.”
However, not everything is as it appears. Though WeRateDogs used the photo to represent the feeling that many people are having when the COVID-19 vaccination becomes available and individuals are reunited, that is not the situation here.
First, dogs are not immunized against COVID-19, but secondly (and most endearingly), the puppies in question spend a lot of time together.
Simba the dog belongs to Roberto Couto of Dartmouth, MA, who uploaded the shot in January with the prominent Facebook group Dogspotting, where it received a lot of attention.
Couto said the photo of Simba, a tiny Goldendoodle, and Cooper, a Havanese, was shot more than a year ago. In December, both dogs turned one.
Although WeRateDogs labeled the photo as their first reunion in a year after being separated due to the epidemic, the dogs are seeing each other a lot more regularly now, thanks to Simba.
Simba and Cooper are neighbors who are frequently taken on walks together by the children of the families, and Couto stated that “they see each other on weekends or if Simba escapes my yard,” adding that Simba dashes out of the yard to visit his pal.
Couto stated that the canines met when they were puppies since their families received them around the same time, adding that “they adore one other, and my daughter and friend’s daughter are friends as well.”
The photo of Simba and Cooper has gone popular on Twitter, with over 240,000 likes as of this writing. Despite calling the viral photo as “sort of awesome,” Couto was unsurprised, saying that the shot often receives a lot of attentionโit was liked more than 11,000 times when it was shared on Facebook a few months ago.
The adorable shot has prompted other dog owners to submit photographs of their pets snuggling, such as Twitter user @Dabadoyta1983, who wrote: “My doggie Stella Blue and best pup pal Izzy!”
Claudia on Twitter shared a photo of her aunt’s dog hugging a stranger’s dog.
Finally, @Paulaloorules shared a photo that will sum up a lot of reunions this year, adding: “M SO HAPI TO SEE U, MAAATE!!!”