This is the heartbreaking moment an Alsatian sheepdog sits beside the body of a small white pup and refuses to leave.

The grief-stricken dog is seen in phone footage from the city of Luoyang, in Central China’s Henan Province, sheltering its pal.

The moving scene was filmed by a man who happened upon it in the early morning hours as he was coming home from work.

After carefully dragging the white pup closer to the side of the road, the Alsatian stops and curls itself around the body with a protective paw on its shoulder.

In the footage, the man who shot can be heard calling to the Alsatian but it refused to move.

Netizens were touched by the affectionate dog seen in the video, posted later on Douyin, China’s version of TikTok.

Douyin user ‘689659019258’ said in a comment: “Every dog has a soul.”

User ‘dot and rice illustration’ said: “The big dog can feel love and righteousness. Even if it can’t speak, it understands everything.

“I hope it can be moved from the street as soon as possible, otherwise it is very dangerous for it to be sitting there.”

And user ‘NA’ wrote: “It’s so pitiful that I can’t watch this kind of video without it making my heart hurt.”