Jaleen Xuereb wanted to cheer up her father who was still reeling over the loss of his two beloved dogs, Nemo and Lucy.
James was "completely broken" after the two pets died of congestive heart failure within weeks of each other, Xuereb told HuffPost Canada in email.
"My dad lost his best friends," the 20-year-old said. Her father could not talk about the dogs or even look at pictures of them, she added.
So in September, the Guelph, Ont. family decided to get him a new dog as an early birthday gift. They kept it a secret until earlier this month, when they unveiled James' surprise and filmed his reaction.
'Full of joy'
We won't spoil anything, but we will say you should probably have a giant box of tissues nearby for this.
Watch James' reaction to the new puppy — a bichon frise named Lumo — in the video embedded above.
Xuereb shared the video of her father's reaction on Facebook, where it has been shared thousands of times.
"We were not expecting for this to go viral at all, we are all still in shock, but [we] are full of joy from all the lovely comments we have received," she said.
Xuereb said it's as if a "weight has been lifted" off her dad's shoulders. She says he is finally starting to talk about Nemo and Lucy.
When he gets home, she says, he "always says where's my little man!"
"Lumo is settling nicely into the Xuereb home."
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