A photo of a loyal dog leaving sleeping space on a cushion for the canine best friend who died a year ago has gone viral.
Nine-year-old Harry can be seen in the picture resting his head on the empty mat where his late companion George used to sleep.
Owner Caitlin Wynne, 17, from Winsford, Cheshire says her dog never slept in Harry's spot hoping his friend would return to his side.
Harry and George, both Lhasa Apsos did everything together - playing, eating and sleeping on the same dog mat.
Caitlin bought George in 2004 when he was almost a year old and Harry was bought as a young puppy.
But last year, George was diagnosed with kidney failure and Caitlin's family were forced to put him down.
Harry grieved for weeks and refused to eat or socialise with other dogs.
Caitlin said: "I slept on the sofa the night before we had George put to sleep to keep him company and Harry was pacing around the room crying, and wouldn’t sleep all night as if he knew something was wrong.
"We took Harry to the vets with us when George was put to sleep and stayed next to him the whole time. Harry grieved for a couple of weeks.
His tail was down and he wouldn’t socialise or eat any treats. "
A year on, Harry sleeps next to George's sofa bed but never in it, showing how he still misses his friend and longs for his return..
Caitlin added: "Almost a year on and he clearly still misses George! He sleeps on floor to the side of the bed now quite often but I didn’t realise why until I was looking through photos of them both from a year ago and saw the photo I tweeted which made me realise."
She posted the picture on Twitter, showing George and Harry sleeping next to each other along with a picture of Harry sleeping alone next to the cushion, caption: "I’m full on crying rn (right now)...he always let George sleep there and he died almost a year ago and he still lies there."
The post has since gained over 59K likes and 7K shares, with dozens of users commenting on the heartbreaking snap.
One wrote: "Sorry girl. That's got to be heartbreaking."
Another added: "Awwww this is so sad , dogs definitely have emotions, hope your cute doggy is ok."
One said: "Omg my heart actually hurts. Look at this poor baby."
