2 Golden Retrievers Couldn’t Hide Their Joy When They Met the Easter Bunny

There is something undeniably wholesome about watching a dog encounter a mall Easter Bunny for the first time, and two golden retrievers named Poppi and Pearl proved exactly that when their owners decided to bring them along for the holiday tradition. The pair became an overnight internet sensation after a TikTok video captured their reaction, and it is easy to see why. From the moment they set paw in the shopping center, it was clear these two were not going to play it cool.

The video, posted by the account @pearlgoldengirl, documents the whole adventure from start to finish. Owners carried both dogs up the escalator on the way to the photo corner, and even during that brief ride, Poppi and Pearl could barely contain themselves. Their tails were already going by the time they reached the bottom, and the energy only built from there. What makes the moment especially charming is that neither dog showed a hint of hesitation or fear when they finally came face to face with the costumed bunny. Instead, they approached with curiosity and enthusiasm, tails wagging the entire time.

Taking pets along to holiday photo sessions has become an increasingly popular tradition in recent years, and this Easter outing is a perfect example of why. Many families who include their animals in seasonal rituals find that it creates genuinely joyful moments that are hard to replicate in any other setting. For Poppi and Pearl’s owners, the gamble clearly paid off.

The account behind the video has built a following of over 800,000 people on TikTok, so there was already an audience ready and waiting to be charmed. Viewers flooded the comments with reactions that ranged from pure delight to affectionate self-deprecation. “You can clearly see the excitement in their body language. They are absolutely adorable!” wrote one commenter. Another kept it simple: “Absolutely precious!”

@pearlgoldengirl Wait to see how the photos turned out?! Can you believe how cute this is 🤭 #goldenretriever #easterbunny ♬ Pennies From Heaven – Remastered – Louis Prima

One viewer had a particularly poetic observation, writing “You just made that bunny’s day!” while others used the opportunity to compare their own dogs to these two remarkably composed golden retrievers. The contrast was a recurring theme. “My younger one would have peed on the bunny’s leg and that would have been the end of photos for the day,” admitted one dog owner. Another chimed in with her own confession: “And my older one would have pooped on the carpet from anxiety the second we arrived!”

The comments reveal something that any dog owner will recognize immediately: every animal has its own distinct personality, and the gap between a calm, well-socialized golden retriever and a more reactive dog can be enormous. Poppi and Pearl apparently represent the best-case scenario, the kind of dogs that make strangers at pet-friendly events exhale with relief.

Golden retrievers were originally bred in Scotland in the mid-1800s specifically to retrieve shot waterfowl during hunts, which means their famously gentle mouths and eager-to-please temperaments are not just personality quirks but actual working traits refined over generations. The Easter Bunny tradition at shopping malls in the United States dates back to the 1970s, roughly the same era that saw Santa photo stations become a retail staple, and the two traditions were pioneered by many of the same companies. Golden retrievers consistently rank among the top three most popular dog breeds in the United States, a position they have held for decades, largely because their temperament makes them as comfortable in a buzzing shopping center as they are at home on the couch.

What is your favorite holiday tradition involving your pets? Share your thoughts in the comments.