A young boy who had his heartbroken following the recent death of his dog was overwhelmed by emotion after his mother bought him a new puppy for Christmas.
The moment 9-year-old Tristen Perez was presented with his new yellow lab, ‘Bailey,’ was captured on camera and shared with ABC News on Thursday.
His mother, Gretchen Perez, said the Memphis, Tennessee family recently lost their beloved dog Aspen in late August, with Tristen and her other, five-year-old Tanner, still struggling to cope with the loss.
The moment 9-year-old Tristen Perez was presented with his new friend was captured on camera in Memphis, Tennessee
His mother, Gretchen Perez, said the family recently lost their beloved dog Aspen in late August
Her sons, Tristen and five-year-old Tanner were struggling to cope with the loss of Aspen who had been with the family for all of their lives
Gretchen and her husband decided to surprise their kids and ‘wrapped up a box, put it on the doorstep and rang the bell
Tristen’s reaction to the ‘sweet surprise’ has now been viewed more than 5 million times on Facebook
‘We started thinking about the timing of a puppy and thought, ”Well maybe around Christmas,” Perez told ABC News.
So on December 14, Gretchen and her husband decided to surprise their kids and ‘wrapped up a box, put it on the doorstep and rang the bell.’
The footage shows Tristen and Tanner greeted with a large green gift, asking curiously what was inside.
Tristen’s reaction to the ‘sweet surprise’ has now been viewed more than 5 million times on Facebook.
The video shows Tristen hardly able to contain himself, so overwhelmed by emotion and nearly bursting into tears.
Genny House, owner of Mid South Puppies – the organization that gifted the dog to the Perez family – said that watching Tristen’s response is ‘the most rewarding part of my job.’
Gretchen later told ABC News that Bailey was ‘doing great’ with her new family.
Gretchen later told ABC News that Bailey, a yellow lab, was ‘doing great’ with her new family