A dog's sad reaction to seeing his owner throw away one of his toys after it broke has left pet lovers feeling heartbroken for the poor pooch.

Dogs are capable of experiencing emotions but there are crucial differences to the way they process these feelings.

Speaking to National Geographic, Dr. Gregory Berns, a neuroscientist at Emory University, explained: "They have feelings very much like we do, even though they don't have words to describe them."

Dog emotions appear less nuanced, with canines lacking the language to express or process their experiences in the way humans do. Berns attributes much of this to the physiological differences between the two species.

"Dog brains are not the same as humans," he explained. "One big difference is in the size. A dog brain is about the size of a lemon, at best if it's a big dog. There's not the same real estate in there, so they can't do some things we can do."

There are positives and negatives to such an emotional state. While canines often react to their immediate surroundings and experiences with a clear indication of how they feel, emotionally, such feelings are often fleeting, meaning bouts of sadness rarely stay around for long.

It's important to keep that in mind when watching this clip of Blue, the American Bully dog filmed looking bereft after his owner was forced to discard one of his toys.

A video of his reaction, which was posted to TikTok, can be watched here.

Breaks my heart every time🥺🥺 #americanbully #bullybreed #bully #staffy #pittie #amstaff #dog #puppy #doggo

The dog's owner was entirely right to do so, of course, as the damaged plaything could have represented a health hazard to his beloved pet pooch.

But that didn't make Blue's reaction any less heartbreaking, with the cute canine adopting the saddest of expressions after watching his owner pop his beloved toy in the trash can.

Blue's mournful look was not lost on the dog owner, who shared the clip to social media under the handle landsharkblue alongside the caption "breaks my heart every time."

They weren't alone in expressing sorrow at the situation, with the video amassing 4.5 million views online along with a barrage of comments from concerned viewers.

"How could you?" TingusPingus55 wrote, with vox073 adding: "awwwww shame." "You broke her heart," Vanna Mazerbo commented while Denise Wischmeier simply said: "Poor baby."

Alexis Victoria said Blue's owner had made a major mistake by discarding the broken toy in front of the dog. "I never do this when they're watching, I hide it," she wrote.

Blue's owner acknowledged the mistake, writing back that he has been feeling "more and more guilty as time goes by." Ultimately, however, he explained his decision to discard the toy as one being born out of a "safety first" attitude around his dog. Describing Blue as a "good boy" he promised to replace the toy with a brand new one—and has been true to his word.

In a video update posted to TikTok, he showed fans Blue enjoying the new and improved version of the ball-based dog chew toy. That clip can be viewed here.

He has been playing with it for 45min non stop! #americanbully #bullybreed #bully #staffy #pittie #amstaff #dog #puppy #doggo

Newsweek has contacted landsharkblue for comment.

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