Owner Tests if Dog Remembers Human Sibling After a Year: 'Double Take!'

The moment a light bulb went off in a dog's mind when her human sibling walked past quickly went viral, melting people's hearts.

James originally bought Olive, a golden retriever and labrador mix, during his senior year of college. Following graduation, he moved back home where Olive grew very close to his immediate family, James told Newsweek via TikTok. His little sister Jenna and Olive had a special girl bond and grew to love each other immensely, but when she moved to New York City, the girl duo saw each other less often.

They finally reunited after not seeing each other in over a year and James wanted to see if Olive would remember Jenna. To test the theory, he took his Olive outside on a walk and had Jenna walk by without greeting them. The dog looked, paused, and a second later, it clicked: that was her sister.

Olive couldn't whip her head around fast enough in the TikTok video posted to the account @daddycaddyyy on May 7. As the text on the video read, Olive needed a "Double take!"

The second time she spotted Jenna, she ran over to greet her, jumping up and down with her tail wagging 100 mph. Even after a year of not smelling Jenna's scent or seeing her, Olive could spot her on the sidewalk.

Dogs can recognize and remember people even after not seeing each other for years, according to a Rover article. They will associate positive feelings, treats, and playtime with being part of the family, which can last a lifetime. A dog's strongest memory trigger is their sense of smell. However, they also recognize the faces of other people and dogs.

"Olive loves her family so whenever someone in the immediate family is in town I like to test her memory and she always passes!" James said. "We're going to make another round of these videos when my parents come visit me in June."

'Made my day!'

The precious reunion quickly went viral and by Friday, the TikTok clip had over 2.6 million views, 139,000 likes, and 621 comments.

"Well, this one made my day!" said one viewer, while another user wrote: "Made my heart smile."

A third TikTok user wrote what the dog was possibly thinking: "She said, 'I know you didn't just walk past me like that.'"

A fourth user pointed out: "Just look at that tail go."

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