machibouinu

A new Twitter trend in Japan has people tagging their tweets with #machibouken (#待ちぼう犬), or “waiting dogs.”

We’ve all seen that familiar sight of a dog tied to railings outside the neighborhood store, waiting patiently for its owner to pick up a few groceries. While some dogs become excited by the constant attention from passersby, others slump into a depression for fear that they’ve been unceremoniously abandoned. The following photos show both ends of that spectrum–and quite honestly, we’d scoop all of these waiting pups up in a heartbeat!

We don’t have a clue as to why someone would start a Twitter thread of waiting dogs in the first place, since some of the dogs’ faces look heartbreakingly forlorn. Take this sad-looking guy, for example:

Nevertheless, there’s something endearing about all of their faces, both the happy and the sad ones, that keeps us glued to our screens. Prepare yourself for the following photos which evoke a range of doggie and human emotions!

https://twitter.com/lovestrays/status/604332616502784001

▼ This poor guy is so done.

▼ No leash necessary

https://twitter.com/invoke1210/status/589061803100872705

▼ The owners of the next two pups left them waiting in style:

https://twitter.com/ruirui53600436/status/615055023307780096 https://twitter.com/koto_ri_toko/status/617980681071693824

▼ One Twitter user snapped a picture of a hook designed specifically for tying dogs’ leashes onto:

https://twitter.com/mooncalf_tomcat/status/614637389089079296

Finally, here’s a dog’s reaction when it finally spots its owner return. Incidentally, this photo is also a beautiful illustration of the difference between cats and dogs.

If you’ve got a dog at home, give it a pat for us!

Source: Naver Matome
Top image: Twitter (@koto_ri_toko)