Injured Owner Spends $400 On Vet For His Limping Dog, Finds Out The Dog Was Simply Copying Him Out Of Sympathy

Every so often, our beloved pets prove themselves to be even more sweet and compassionate than some people are. With that being said, meet Bill—a lurcher from London who’s been imitating his injured owner’s limp out of sympathy.

Recently, the owner named Russell Jones shared a heartwarming yet hilarious video on Facebook capturing the doggy imitating his behavior while walking beside him, and in just a few days, received over 11k likes along with 26k shares.

Meet Bill—a lurcher from London who’s recently proved himself to be even more sympathetic than some people

Image credits: Russell Jones

The short video captures Russell, whose leg had been placed in a plaster cast, walking the street with his doggy Bill. The lurcher is seen walking with his paw raised above the ground in order to copy his owner’s limp. “Cost me £300 in vet fees and X-rays, nothing wrong, just sympathy. Love him,” Russell wrote in the description of his post.

For a while, this doggy has been imitating his injured owner’s limp out of pure compassion

Image credits: Russell Jones

According to Cesar’s Way, “There are a number of different creatures that imitate others within their own species. People imitate other people. Birds imitate other birds. Non-human primates like monkeys and apes imitate others in their group.”

“But dogs not only imitate other dogs—they copy what we do as well. What’s even crazier is that they have been known to do so even when the imitation doesn’t benefit them,” Cesar’s Way explains on their webpage.

The owner paid around $400 in vet fees and X-rays only to find out there was, in fact, nothing wrong with his dog

Image credits: Russell Jones

Why do our doggies copy our behavior, though? “Experts think that dogs’ tendency to copy us came about through thousands of years of selective breeding and training. Over time, it grew to become a built-in reaction,” reads the website.