VIDEO: Confused Dog Doesn’t Recognize Owner That Lost 50 Pounds Until…

In an incredible video that’s gone viral this week, a confused dog doesn’t recognize his owner after the man was hospitalized for 5 weeks and lost 50 pounds… that is until he leans in for a sniff.

North Carolina man, Shane Godfrey, was hospitalized for 5 weeks due to complications from the flu during which he lost 51 pounds, making him unrecognizable to his dog, Willie.

For a few moments of what must have been pure disappointment for Godfrey, Willie was scared and reluctant to approach the strange man watching him from the park bench.

As he approached, Willie showed all the classic signs of fear – tail tucked, hesitant to approach, and barking.

But, reluctance turned to pure bliss when Willie finally got a whiff of his very best friend.

The incredible, emotional reunion was caught on tape and posted to Facebook and Twitter where, naturally, it quickly went viral.

Watch closely and you’ll see the exact moment Willie realizes the strange man watching him closely is actually the dad he’s been missing for more than a month:

VIRAL VIDEO: A dog didn’t recognize his owner who lost 50 pounds after 5 weeks in a hospital—-until he sniffed him pic.twitter.com/HCo0IuFGTl

— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) April 24, 2017

“At first he was unsure and barked at me, but once he got close enough to smell me he recognized me immediately and totally went wild with excitement,” Godfrey told Fox31.

Godfrey adopted Willie about a year ago when the stray dog appeared on his porch one day. The pair were inseparable until Godfrey fell ill in March and had to be hospitalized.

“It still makes me tear up when I see the video. He won’t leave my side now that I’ve gotten back home.”

Godfrey is now at home, recovering, with his very best friend happily by his side again.