The emotional moment a grieving woman arrived at the shelter to adopt her late friend's dog, who was by her side when she passed, has reduced the internet to tears.
The indescribable pain of grief is something that Jessica Elmore has had to endure, following the unexpected death of her best friend in December 2025. She passed suddenly on December 27 at the age of 48, leaving behind her English Mastiff mix, Logan. The dog was right by her side when she passed away, as Elmore told Newsweek that animal control had to step in because "he wouldn't leave her."
Logan was placed in a shelter following his owner's death, but there was no hesitation in Elmore's mind about helping him. She knew her friend would have hated the thought of him waiting in a shelter, so Elmore, of Missouri, set to work on finding out where he was placed.
"As soon as I got the call that he was in a shelter, I went looking for the right city to get him," Elmore said. "My friend never would have left her dog in a shelter and it would've broken her heart to know that he was homeless."
Once she had located Logan, Elmore spent several days trying to adopt him. Unfortunately, as it was the holidays, the shelter was closed and Logan had to wait nine days before Elmore could finally take him home.
When she arrived at the shelter and reunited with Logan, he appeared to recognize her immediately. Adopting her late friend's dog was hugely comforting for Elmore too, as it means she has "a piece of her left."
Elmore said: "He was so happy when I adopted him. I opened the windows on the way home and he just hung his head out (like when he was with his original mama) and looked like he was literally smiling. He's doing amazing so far. He still recognized me, my house and my dog, so the transition was instantly a match."
Of course, given what he's gone through, Logan still gets sad from time to time. Elmore often finds him staring out the window as though he's still waiting for his owner to come back.
Elmore shared footage of the emotional moment she rescued Logan on TikTok (@messiejessie79) and it's left the internet in tears. The video has gone viral since it was shared on January 6, generating over 133,500 views and more than 30,900 likes at the time of writing. The TikTok video also includes images of Logan relaxing in his new home and cuddling up to his new family.
Rescuing Logan has also helped Elmore cope with her own grief, as she told Newsweek that she knows her friend would be "smiling down on the situation." Logan and Elmore are helping each other through every day and seeing how comfortable he is in his new home offers her such joy during an otherwise difficult time.
"I feel lucky to have been able to do this for my friend. It's the most bittersweet feeling I've ever had. One moment I'm mourning my best friend, and then I see Logan and my heart gets full," Elmore continued.
Since the video went viral, many TikTok users took the comments to praise Elmore for her kindhearted gesture, leading to more than 1,000 comments on the post so far.
One comment reads: "you're friend in heaven knowing she picked the right best friend."
Another TikTok user wrote: "Thank you so much for adopting him! He's grieving too. Now you can support and help each other."
While another person replied: "Poor baby...he's so happy to see a familiar face."