Dog Bringing Toys to Window During Parade Melts Hearts

A video of a dog’s unusual behavior while watching a parade has captivated viewers on TikTok.

The clip was shared by Amanda D’Esposito (@mandadespo), a 40-year-old medical aesthetics sales representative based in Woodbury and Garden City on New York’s Long Island.

The footage, which has amassed over 666,000 views since it was posted Sunday, was captured during a Pride parade in Patchogue on Long Island, D’Esposito told Newsweek. The video shows Bandit, a 5-year-old catahoula leopard rescue dog, sitting with several dog toys placed against a window while he looks down at the parade.

D’Esposito said this was the first time she’s seen him do this. “He carries his toys with him everywhere, likes to take one on walks.”

Asked why Bandit may have wanted his toys with him during the parade, she said: “I think he does this as he loves his toys and does have anxiety [so he] likes to keep them near.”

While it’s not known exactly why Bandit felt the need to bring his toys to the window, his attachment to them could be due to their novelty factor, according to a November 2012 study conducted with Labrador retrievers.

The study, published in Animal Cognition, said that “domestic dogs are reported to show intense but transient neophilia [a love for all things new] towards novel objects.”

The study found that “loss of interest in the object during object-orientated play in this species is due to habituation to the overall stimulus properties of the toy rather than to any single sensory modality.”

In an article for VCA, one of North America’s largest animal hospital chains, veterinarians Debra Horwitz and Gary Landsberg said: “Novel and highly desirable objects, such as a tissue that has been stolen from a garbage can, a favorite toy, human food, or a piece of rawhide, are some of the items that dogs may aggressively protect.”

‘A Breed of His Own’

A voice in the clip says: “My dog is special. There’s a parade going on outside my window and he literally brought his toys to the window…uh…to watch, I’m assuming?”

A caption shared with the post says: “This dog is in a breed of his own.”

TikTok users found the dog’s unique behavior heartwarming.

ThaGoddessKC wrote: “Stop I’m gonna cry that’s so cute.” Kcg262 said: “Awww he’s so excited.”

J Carlos Ramos said: “He just a baby with babies.”

Kat wrote: “He wants to share them with the humans out there.” And Yew Go Girl LLC agreed, saying, “Awwww he wants them too see his friends lol.”

SteelerGrl81 wrote, “He is so sweet,” and Hypnopotamoss said, “Dogs believe in the rule of reciprocity. The people are giving him joy, so he is sharing his joy with them too.”

Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.