Waking up rattled from a nap can happen to anyone, and Wally the Golden Retriever proved that dogs go through it, too. His mom, Instagram user @wally.meets.world, caught the whole thing on video after the Golden Retriever shot out of sleep and went straight into her lap for a hug. By the end, we do not know what really happened, but we do know that Wally is safe and sound with his mom.
‘Shaken’ Golden Retriever runs straight to mom, jumps into her lap and hugs her
In the video, the Golden Retriever is already in his mom’s lap, ready for a tight hug, when she starts gently probing, asking him, “What was it? What woke you up, buddy? You’re shaking. You have a bad dream?” Wally fixes his gaze somewhere to the side, zoned out and faraway, looking like a pup who could not wrap his head around whatever happened in the dream.
His mom keeps gently rubbing his body, reassuring him, “Wally, it’s okay. What happened?” but Wally keeps staring away. When she asks, “You heard something?” he answers with a sound that is not quite a growl. It is more like a low, closed-mouth grumble from his nose, the kind of noise that practically translates to “Yes” without him barking.
Then he looks upstairs. His mom follows his line of sight, asking, “Why do you keep looking upstairs? Don’t scare me, please,” and Wally lets out that same nasal rumble again, still looking at the top of the steps. She keeps nudging him with questions, asking him, “Wally, what’s wrong? What are you trying to tell me?.” And he answers each time with that earnest little huff.
Eventually, she pauses and asks, “Okay, you need a hug?” As Wally seems comparatively at ease, she pulls him in, and the video ends with the two of them hugging each other. Maybe that is exactly what Wally needed.
Dogs absolutely do dream. When a dog wakes up disoriented and scared, their instinct often leads them to their safest person. So whether it was a spooky dream or just a sudden need for his mom’s hug, Wally’s climb into her lap proved that love can solve most problems.
