Grandma Lets Injured Pup Pick a Toy to Cheer Him Up—And His Sweet Reaction Goes Viral
Buzz the Golden Retriever is warming the hearts of dog lovers everywhere with his sweet reaction to his grandmother’s comforting gesture. He recently injured his toe, and to help him feel better, his grandmother gifted him his absolute favorite thing in the world—a stuffed toy.
Buzz’s mom, Grace Dower, says Buzz is always very gentle with his “stuffies” and never destroys or rips them apart. Instead, he carries them around in his mouth—so the softer the toy, the more loved it is.
This love was on full display in her now-viral video. Buzz injured his paw after roughhousing in the backyard with the extended family’s other dogs. Grace brought him to the vet, and it turned out he had broken his toe.
The injury happened just before the Fourth of July weekend. During that time, Grace visited her parents, and her mother brought out some stuffed animals to cheer Buzz up, lining them up so he could pick one.
Grace filmed Buzz as he gently nuzzled and sniffed each toy while his grandma encouraged him to pick between the pig, the bear, or the bunny. For a moment, it looked like he might go for the bear—but then he picked the softest, most plush one. “Oh he wants the bunny,” exclaimed grandma. With his gentle, expressive eyes, Buzz took the bunny into his mouth and looked adoringly at grandma as she gave him pets and sympathy.
The video of Buzz and his grandma has garnered nearly 3 million views, with dog lovers “awwing” over the sweet moment. One person commented on Buzz, “He knew it was the bunny from the start, he just had to apologize to the others first.”
Another viewer, Brittany Marsland, said Buzz might change his behavior as result. She wrote, “He’s going to remember this and start limping every time grandma comes around in hopes of getting another stuffy.”
A third commenter agreed, sharing a similar story: “My boy broke his toe and needed surgery. When he came home, he would raise his paw and we all gushed and loved on him. He literally raised that paw every day for the rest of his life to get extra love.” Grace replied, “Stop I’m crying, it definitely worked every time too.”
Buzz didn’t need a cast on his foot. The vet recommended rest and prescribed pain and anti-inflammatory medication for the swelling. Grace later noted that Buzz’s toe has healed and he’s back to his old self.
Grace told PEOPLE that she adopted Buzz in 2022. The three-year-old dog is gentle, quiet and polite. His love of his stuffies extends to greeting visitors with them. “He always brings people one of his toys when they walk in the door,” Grace says. “It’s like his way of saying, ‘Welcome, I’m glad you’re here.’”
And now, he has a plushie bunny to welcome everyone.
And for those wondering why grandma only let him pick one…well…
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