If you’re like me and work behind a laptop full-time, you probably had a similar experience in 2020. Offices closed, and you stayed home 24/7. If you’re also like me and had a very needy dog at the time who hated it when everyone left for work for long hours each weekday, you probably noticed your dog absolutely loving this new world where everyone stays home all day, and dogs get a million walks and all the attention.
I was reminded of that when I came across a recent TikTok video showing a golden retriever suffering a serious holiday attention hangover after his human dad returned to the office. The 36-second clip comes from TikToker @wally.meets.world and is captioned with, “The toughest day of the year.” The video opens with Wally, the golden retriever, lying on the couch under a comfort blanket, and his human mother consoling him while holding his paw. In other words, down bad.
We’ve Never Seen a Golden Retriever Down This Bad
“Daddy had to go back to work today,” Wally’s human mother tells him. “I know he was home with you for so long. And we had Christmas. And you opened up all your presents. Right?” Wally closes his eyes, looking as if he’s considering all of the reasoning his human mother is trying to do.
Related: Golden Retriever and His Grandpa Have a Hilarious ‘Bro Bond’
“And you saw everyone,” Wally’s human mother continues. “You saw Grandma. I know. But everybody’s gotta go back to work today. All the fun is over, OK? I know. I’m sorry.” Wally’s mother starts petting him, but it really doesn’t look like Wally is going to pull out of this one. “Daddy wishes he could stay home with you all day,” she continues. “Every day. He’ll be home later, OK? It’s going to be OK.” She then kisses Wally on the head, and the video concludes. With Wally still down badly.
The comment section had some excellent observations. “The way his eyes perked up at ‘grandma,'” TikTok user @thelabwoody commented. “Daddy is handing in notice today, right?” commented TikTok user @katttt. “Wally is us. We are Wally,” commented Instacart’s official TikTok account.
Wally the golden retriever is one of our favorite doggos to follow on TikTok, and the main reason is his emotional intensity. It’s easy to relate to how emotionally drained he was after the holidays and how sad he gets every night at dinner.
Related: Golden Retriever Is Hilariously Angry After Visiting the Groomer
This story was originally published by PetHelpful on Jan 8, 2026, where it first appeared in the Pet News section. Add PetHelpful as a Preferred Source by clicking here.