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By Jack Beresford
Senior Reporter
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A rescue dog adjusting to life in his new home was delighted to discover one of his old shelter friends living next door.
In a video posted to the TikTok account goosegooseduckling, two dogs can be seen excitedly dashing around a backyard together. Eager to play as the sun shines, it would appear that the two dogs are very much familiar with one another.
It was a heartwarming scene and one made all the more extraordinary by the circumstances surrounding it. You can watch the video here.
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According to a caption accompanying the clip, both dogs were rescued as puppies and spent around six months together before being adopted separately.
They now live next door to one another, which is a major shock, given that the two homes are located some two hours from the shelter they grew up in. "What a small world," the caption reads. That's certainly true, but their reunion might not have counted for all that much had the two dogs not remembered each other.
There was a time when most assumed dogs struggled to remember much of anything. However, research published in the journal Current Biology in 2016 concluded that dogs recall past events similar to humans and link them to their current actions or feelings.
Researchers found that dogs draw on "episodic memory" meaning they can recall past experiences from their life that might not have been all that meaningful at the time. This type of memory is linked to self-awareness and certainly hints at there being more going on with our four-legged friends than we might otherwise assume.
As part of the study, 17 dogs were trained to copy the actions of a human. The experiment then required them to recall the test at an unexpected time, to ascertain whether their memories were episodic.
The dogs tested were able to perform the actions in 33 of the 35 instances they were asked to.
The two dogs in this particular viral video appear to know each other, with the owner of one of the dogs, Celeste, who is filming the footage remarking that they have become "instant friends."
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"They definitely remember," one viewer commented alongside the clip. "I think so too," was the owner's reply. "They always remember," a third said.
"I love that for them," another viewer wrote with the owner responding: "It makes my heart so happy." Elsewhere, one TikTok user said: "Thank you both for saving these wonderful doggos," while another added: "That's pretty awesome, they look like they had a blast!"
Celeste's owner confirmed that they very much did, adding: "Celeste's has slept so hard since!"
Newsweek reached out to the TikTok account goosegooseduckling for comment.
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.
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