Bernese Mountain Dog Gets Overtaken With Joy When Spotting Owner At The Park
Between a dog at a dog park and a child at a playground, it's tough to determine which one has the most fun. They both run around, explore, and play with their friends, but sometimes, they might also feel a pinch of concern when they lose sight of their parents. A woman brought her Bernese mountain dog named Baloo to a spacious dog park in New Haven, Connecticut, and witnessed this very thing while she was recording him. "He thought he lost me at the dog park...his face when he sees me is literally my entire reason for existence," her TikTok caption reads.
@emmahayee My whole world ❤️#bernesemountaindog #dogsoftiktok #doglover #dogmom #love
The clip begins with Baloo prancing in one direction through the park, passing other dogs and their owners. Then he stops and looks around, as if wondering to himself, "Where the heck did my human go?" He changes direction, and moments later, he spots his mother, Emma, and begins happily running toward her. From the wagging tail to the quickened pace, these are classic signs that your dog loves you. Shared in August of 2025, the video has received more than 9,200 comments and 446,000 likes (and counting).
"The unfiltered love in those leaps and bounds," one viewer commented. Another said, "He couldn't get to you fast enough." The clip can easily be added to this list of 21 dogs who are so ridiculously happy to see you. Whether it's Baloo at the park or your own dog jumping for joy when you come home from work, have you ever wondered why dogs seem to always be happy to see their owners?
Why dogs are so happy to see their owners
Most people interact with more than a dozen other people in some capacity over the phone, online, or in person daily, and many have multiple interactions every day. You might be someone who sees dozens of people within just an eight-hour time period at work or out in public. But for some dogs, the only other living beings they interact with daily are their owners. For these pets, their humans are their entire world — their reason for getting up every day, and the one thing they look forward to throughout the day.
A 2015 study conducted at Emory University found there's a scientific reason that dogs are so happy to see their owners, and it's the one we pretty much already knew. Researchers used fMRI scans to show that dogs' temporal lobes respond more strongly to human and dog faces than to objects, suggesting that they have a face-selective brain region. This means that dogs exhibit genuine social enjoyment of human company. "...dogs love their humans — and not just for food," one of the researchers shared in an interview with Gizmodo. Put simply, dogs are happy to see their owners because they love them and take pleasure in being around them.
Want to read more stories about Bernese mountain dogs? Check out the one about a Bernese mountain puppy whose eyes went wide the first time it met a big dog.