By Jack BeresfordShareNewsweek is a Trust Project memberA woman checking in on her new puppy via a pet cam vowed to never leave her dog home alone again after what she saw.
Reese has only been a part of Maddie Mousseau’s life for a few short months, but he has already moved from being just a pet to a beloved member of the family. "My boyfriend and I got Reese at the end of September," Mousseau told Newsweek. "We had just moved, and adding a new member to our little family felt like the perfect next step."
From the day they brought Reese home, he has been a joy to have around, displaying all the adorable traits you would expect from a puppy. "Reese is the sweetest," Mousseau said. "He’s playful, high energy, and loves to cuddle. His favorite things are lying right on top of us with a fuzzy blanket and anything peanut butter-flavored."
Mousseau’s work setup also means Reese benefits from more contact time than many domesticated dogs. "We both work from home, so he gets a lot of attention, plenty of walks, and lots of time outside at the park near our place," she said.
That doesn’t mean there are not times when Reese has to be left at home. One such instance came last month. "It was actually my boyfriend’s birthday, and we were meeting his family for dinner," Mousseau said.
She added that Reese was "home alone for less than two hours" that day, but that did nothing to temper his heartbreaking reaction to being without his owner and her partner.
Dogs miss their humans when they are gone. A 2021 study published in the journal Animals highlighted the physiological response our canine companions experience when they are left home alone.
As part of the study, scientists monitored the behavior and heart rates of 50 dogs when their owners were absent. They noted that the canines registered heightened heart rates and were more likely to pace around the room and vocalize, all of which indicated increased levels of stress.
Mousseau didn’t have Reese hooked up to a heart monitor, but the footage captured on their recently purchased pet cam was proof enough he was struggling. "We bought the dog camera before we even brought Reese home because we knew we’d want to check on him whenever we were out," she said.
Checking the video feed that night, Mousseau was confronted by the sight of Reese appearing lost and heartbroken, waiting close to the front door for their return. At one point, they saw him looking into the mirror as if, according to Mousseau, he was "contemplating life."
Mousseau was certainly left contemplating the decision to leave Reese at home. "I can never leave my house again," she wrote alongside a video of the footage that she later posted to TikTok under the handle @babyreesespieces. "When we checked the camera that night, my heart sank. He clearly missed us," she said. "We rarely leave him for long periods, never more than about four hours, and even that happened only one time."
Mousseau added that she shared the video because it was "really sweet" and Reese looking in the mirror made her laugh. Some progress has been made since then. "We’re trying to slowly get him comfortable being on his own so he doesn’t develop anxious attachment," she said.
However, Mousseau added that she hopes the clip serves as a reminder of "how strong the bond is between dogs and their humans." She said: "Their love for us is so real."
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