As a ten-and-a-half-year-old senior dog, Coda, the rescue Papillon mix, has a particular way of moving through his golden years, and it involves his emotional support sock. He finds this sock and simply does not let go in an adorable video from @codename_coda on Instagram. The little dog walks over to the couch with the titular sock in his mouth and wiggles himself in the middle of a cushion and a folded blanket.
Dog holds on to sock for nearly an hour as he needs ’emotional support’
The senior dog settles down with the emotional support sock in his mouth, as if he had done this a thousand times before, while the background audio coos, “Aww, so cute. So cute.” The on-screen text says, “Me whenever he grabs a sock because what do you mean his tiny brain told him he should carry around a sock for emotional support.” The caption under the video calls Coda a “Grumpy old man with his emotional support sock.” It also reveals, “He’s been holding this one for almost an hour.”
Dogs rely a lot on their noses, and a sock is thick with the scent of the person they love most. So, carrying it around and holding it while resting is Coda’s way of self-soothing, like a child who would not sleep without their favorite stuffed animal. When a dog is feeling tired or just needs a little extra grounding, a familiar object becomes a portable anchor, and for this dog, his emotional support sock seems to carry a special weight.
One viewer saw the logic, commenting, “If it’s a dirty sock it’s because he feels close to who wore it.” Another, with the kind of humor that only pet people understand, confessed, “If only my dog did this with socks — she chooses my underwear, v cute when I have company over LOL.” Meanwhile, a third viewer admitted, “I think I need to carry around an emotional support sock too.”
And maybe, it is true that we all need an emotional support sock to get us through tough days just like this dog.
