Golden retriever grabs “sweetest thing ever” instead of toy to greet owner

A video of a dog bringing the closest object he could find to greet his owners melted the internet’s heart.

Kobi, a golden retriever, loves when his owners come home, as any dog does, and with his excitement boiling over at the sight of them, he doesn’t know how to express his emotions. He grabs the closest thing to him, and what the owner calls the “sweetest thing ever,” to redirect his enthusiasm: his doggy name collar.

The owner, who is known on TikTok as @leahthepa, shared in a March 31 video how Kobi greets her when she comes home. Her return happened too quickly for Kobi. He didn’t have time to grab a soft toy to hold in his mouth, which dogs commonly do.

A PetMD article reported that dogs bring toys or gifts to their owners upon their arrival for several reasons. Perhaps they want to play or show off their toy, but it could also be that they need a distraction from their excitement, as they sometimes cannot control themselves and might bark or nip.

This habit is also known as displacement behavior. This self-soothing behavior helps reduce feelings of stress, tension or anxiety, Newsweek previously reported. However, dogs can be used in positive situations, as seen in the video of Kobi.

Kobi couldn’t contain his feelings when he spotted his owner. He immediately needed to do something to distract his emotions. He grabbed the name tag on his collar and kept it in his mouth as he cozied up next to his owner. He stayed there, soaking up all the pets he could get.

Newsweek reached out to @leahthepa via email for comment.

The TikTok video reached more than 106,800 views and 27,100 likes as of Wednesday, with people obsessing over Kobi’s adorable response to seeing his owner.

“We don’t deserve Goldens. They are truly a beautiful breed,” wrote one viewer, while another said: “Goldens are literal angels like mine will find ANYTHING to greet with, including throw pillows.”

A third person commented: “He had to make sure you got some type of gift.”

Others suggested the owners keep a basket of doors by the door for easy access. The owner informed viewers in the comment section that they moved the toy bin, but Kobi still greets them with the dog collar in his mouth. He’ll even greet them that way if they’ve been gone for as little as 20 minutes.

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