In a heart-wrenching story out of Oklahoma, a tiny black dog which was discovered alive among the wreckage was actually guarding the body of its owner, who had died in the F-5 stage tornado that leveled a good part of Moore.

The Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Department posted a photo of the dog before they realized what was going on; now, the photo has gone viral and the pup will be adopted by the deputy.

“May 20, 2013 we posted this picture of a dog on our Twitter account “scared, but this little pup survived”,” the department posted on their Facebook account. “Today we found out the story behind the picture. The dog was standing guard over a deceased individual, possibly it’s owner, in Moore following the tornado there. The dog was taken to a shelter and the deputy who found the pup, if possible, plans on adopting the dog. Man’s best friend to the end.”

The stories coming out of Moore, Oklahoma are tragic and heartbreaking as we hear tales of children losing their lives and parents awaiting word on whether their kids made it out of the storm alive. Some bright spots can be found, however, such as the woman who was reunited with her dog as she gave an interview on camera.