When a pet owner dropped her puppy off at her parents’ house, she could never have predicted what would happen next.
One of the first things Anouk, 26, from the Netherlands, knew when she first moved in with her boyfriend was that she wanted a dog. “My parents own a golden retriever, Vince, who is 13 years old now,” Anouk told Newsweek. “So I’ve had a dog around me for half of my life.”
However, it wasn’t until they spotted an especially cute canine sitting in the front window of one of their neighbor’s houses that they decided exactly what breed. “When we saw the dog outside on a walk we asked its owner where the dog was from and that’s how we got in contact with the breeder,” she said.
Within three months they were going to pick up Juna, their new Australian Labradoodle puppy. There’s rarely been a quiet moment since. “Juna loves to cuddle with us, everywhere we go, she goes,” Anouk said. “She is a super social pup. But most of all she likes biting us in our hand, legs, feet, toes, nose, or ear.”
A popular fixture at her weekly puppy training class, Juna may have a naughty streak, but knows exactly how to play Anouk. “She can really get under our skin sometimes but we can never stay angry for long when we look at that cute face,” Anouk said.
Anouk and her partner love spending time with Juna, but there are days when they can’t be at home with her.
It’s not uncommon for pet owners to feel guilty about leaving their dogs at home while they go to work. In 2021, a survey of over 2,600 U.S. dog owners conducted by CertaPet revealed 47 percent had experienced separation anxiety when working away from their pets.
Anouk appears to have come up with a solution though. “We have two days in the week where me and my boyfriend both have to go to the office so that’s when Juna is going to my parents,” she said.
It’s a solution that has led to some heartwarming moments for both Anouk and Juna. In a video posted to her TikTok, @juna.the.doodle, Anouk revealed a slide show of the adorable snaps taken by her parents during one of Juna’s most recent visits.
They showcase the burgeoning friendship between Juna and Anouk’s old childhood dog Vince. It’s a friendship that caught Anouk off guard.
“The first time Juna visited she had way too much energy for Vince,” Juna said. “These pictures were from the third time we dropped Juna off.”
The pictures capture the adorable companionship the two dogs have forged. It’s a friendship based around play and cuddles. Lots of cuddles. It’s a bond that has understandably melted Anouk’s heart.
“We were hoping they would get along but couldn’t imagine what we saw in the photos,” Anouk said. Now, having been initially apprehensive about leaving her mom and dad to spend the day with someone else, Juna appears to have undergone a complete U-turn.
“Now she gets really excited every time we go there and doesn’t want to come home with us,” Anouk said. Not that Juna’s owner is complaining about it.
“It makes us so happy to see them become familiar around each other,” Anouk said. “Vince was getting real old, laying around all day but when Juna’s around he gets really active! We hope that they will have a long time together.”
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