An emotional video of a herd of cows saying their last goodbyes to their terminally ill friend moments before it was euthanized has left internet users in tears.

The heartbreaking clip was posted on Facebook earlier in October by Farm Sanctuary, a nonprofit organization that rescues animals in need and provides lifelong care at their locations in New York and Los Angeles. It shows the cow, Curly, laying down on the grass, ready to cross the rainbow bridge as his friends surround him with love.

"When Curly developed inoperable cancer, his herd knew it was time to say goodbye. Cows are deeply social animals. Because they are herd animals, they rely on each other for comfort and support and often choose to stay close to those who are sick," the caption says.

Sierra Bessey, Farm Sanctuary's animal care director, told Newsweek that Curly, who was in his mid-twenties when he died at the sanctuary's New York location, was euthanized because his cancer was inoperable.

"We had noticed that Curly was acting off when he stopped eating his mash of grain that he got twice a day. He would seem interested in it, but then only took a few bites. This behavior caused us to suspect that he had ulcers because he had been prone to them in the past," Bessey said.

The initial tests seemed to show nothing wrong with Curly; however, after taking him to the veterinary hospital, a second doctor found a very large mass behind his lungs that was full of fluid, and it turned out to be cancer.

While he was doing well in the beginning, it took Curly only about two days until he started acting ill again, indicating that the cancerous mass was full of fluid again.

"Being that the mass was behind his lungs, surgery was not an option and we had to make the decision to let him go peacefully surrounded by his herd," Bessey added.

She said that, while people often tend to think otherwise, cows actually do grieve and experience deep emotional bonds, and that the video of Curly being comforted by his friends in his last moments proves it.

"His companion was Rosy. I believe you can see her go up to him in the beginning of the video. She is the other black cow with horns," Bessey said.

"Some of the other cows got pretty worked up and even chased the vet's truck off, but Rosy was calm and said her goodbyes. Thankfully, Rosy, by that time, was very bonded with another cow, the matriarch, Susie Moo."

But do cows have feelings? And can they form meaningful bonds? In an article by Vet Advises, Dr. Harunur Rashid says that cows are indeed capable of experiencing a variety of emotions, including happiness, fear, anxiety, and contentment, and can also form strong bonds with others in their herd.

Cows can also feel stress and fear, and when this happens, they usually show signs such as pacing, trembling, or vocalizing in a high-pitched manner.

The Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences says that a cow's feelings can often be guessed by body posture. For example, if they have their right ear leaning back and the left one forward, they are probably in a more positive state than when they have right ear forward and the left back.

The video quickly went viral on social media and has so far received over 20,000 likes and more than 1,100 comments on the platform.

One user, Clare Gardiner, commented: "I am so glad we get to see and share these life moments that demonstrate just how connected animals are and how they demonstrate grief and peer support similarly to the human animal."

Maria Tortora posted: "Animals are pure innocence and love. Who could ever hurt them … its just unthinkable."

Barbara Simpler Rooke added: "All of the horses in our pasture made a circle around our dying pony, and stayed nearby all night until he passed."

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