A video of a man carrying out a random act of kindness in memory of a dog he didn't know has gone viral on TikTok.
The clip was posted by @danny_sandhouse and has garnered 2.6 million views since it was shared May 3. A message overlaid on the screen says: "Be the change you would like to see."
The footage shows a man standing near a bench in the woods. The camera shows a close-up of the bench, which features a plaque that says: "Berri Romans, the best dog in the world."
The man is later shown scraping the moss-covered bench clean using a carbide scraper, according to a later comment from the poster, and gives it a new finish as well.
A caption shared with the post reads: "He Must of Been a REALLY Good Boy."
The man's motivation to clean the bench honoring the dog is not surprising. "Performing random acts of kindness increases happiness in both givers and receivers," says a January 2023 study in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General. "But we find that givers systematically undervalue their positive impact on recipients."
The study said: "From giving away a cup of hot chocolate in a park to giving away a gift in the lab, those performing a random act of kindness consistently underestimated how positive their recipients would feel, thinking their act was of less value than recipients perceived it to be."
A stock image shows a park bench in Savannah, Georgia. A video of a man cleaning up a moss-covered bench honoring a dog has gone viral on TikTok.A stock image shows a park bench in Savannah, Georgia. A video of a man cleaning up a moss-covered bench honoring a dog has gone viral on TikTok.iStock / Getty Images PlusThe study suggested that "givers' miscalibrated expectations matter because they can create a barrier to engaging in prosocial actions more often in everyday life, which may result in people missing out on opportunities to enhance both their own and others' well-being."
'Beautiful Labor of Love'
TikTok users were moved by the man's actions in the viral video.
Tom said: "It's like cleaning a gravestone but even better. Not only showing kindness to the memory but also to all who sit there in the future."
Stacy Cox said: "What a beautiful labor of love. Thank you for your kindness!"
F44 wrote: "You are so amazingly lovely for doing that. I don't know you, I don't know them but thanks for."
Alyssa said: "I stayed to see the end result, but the scraping of the wood gave me chills the entire time! Such a sweet thing you did, tho!"
Marko Maximus wrote: "They say you die twice. Once when your heart stops beating. The second time is when people stop saying your name. Berri lives on because of this bench and your care."
IClickStuff said: "Was already a fine bench, but you chose to make it so much more! Such a great way to honor Berri Romans."
Newsweek has contacted the original poster for comment via TikTok. The video has not been independently verified.
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