dog final walk video

People are heartbroken over the video of this Toronto dog's final walk

A Toronto man has captured the hearts of strangers across the world with a video he posted of his 14-year-old dog's final walk.

Dale Thompson's senior golden retriever Murphy was suffering from metastatic cancer, so the Toronto-based designer and former journalist had to make the difficult decision to put his beloved pet down on Christmas Day.

The duo is shown taking their last adventure along what appears to be Queen St. West in a video that has now been viewed on Twitter more than 1.3 million times.

In the clip, Murphy meanders slowly down the sidewalk on the way to the vet, his old age evident but a smile on his face nonetheless.

"He left this world the same way he came into it: With style, grace and happy," Thompson writes in the post's caption.

He proceeded to share photos and memories to celebrate the life and mourn the loss of his long-time best friend, resonating with social media users around the world who flocked to offer their kind words and support. Many shared their own personal stories of the loss of a pet.

Murphy's story was even picked up by international news outlets.

Though nothing will replace Thompson's fluffy friend, it's always heartwarming to see people come together online to console one another over a shared human experience.

Lead photo by

Dale Thompson


Latest Videos



Latest Videos


Join the conversation Load comments

Latest in City

Toronto's Love Park pond just got drained because of someone's dumb stunt

Family of flies native to Ontario has a potent neurotoxic bite and even eats birds

These Ontario companies were voted among best places to work in Canada for 2024

Toronto just agreed on a solution to nightmare gridlock traffic on Spadina

Man walks on water in giant bubble to protest the loss of a Toronto beach

Canadians could cash in on proposed prescription antibiotics class action

Toronto to spend a combined $135 million on new island ferries and other upgrades

Toronto might be getting 'relief' ferries to handle overwhelming island crowds