There are few relationships as close as that between a human and their pooch. Many dog owners would do absolutely anything for their beloved pet.

In this guy's case, he went and got a tattoo in an act of solidarity after thinking his rescue dog had been cruelly tattooed by a previous owner.

Sadly for this dude, his cute act of unity with his pet was entirely misplaced, when it was quickly pointed out that his dog's 'tattoo' was actually a symbol used by vets to mark rescue dogs as neutered. Oops.

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What makes this already sad tale even more tragic is the fact that the guy went ahead and shared photos of the matching tats on social media, before being told of his mistake.

Posting on Facebook, the man wrote: "For those of you who know Bear know that he has a tattoo given to him from some previous owners. It sickens me to know that people actually tattoo their pets. So tonight, I got his tattoo." (sic)

Credit: Reddit/whoople

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It wasn't long before someone spotted the guy's unfortunate new inking and pointed out that it wasn't an abusive previous owner, but a mark for rescue centres to identify dogs who had been 'done'.

Someone commented: "That means he's neutered! My rescue female has one, too! Makes a cool story though!"

Naturally, it wasn't long before others chipped in asking if that meant he was neutered, too.

So, you're going to be forever telling the world you're neutered? No big deal. It could be worse, it could be this:

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Credit: MTV/Just Tattoo Of Us

The picture gained even more attention when an old class mate of the guy posted it to Reddit.

However, the dog/tattoo owner has since spoken to Buzzfeed to say he knew exactly what the tattoo meant when he got it and he has no regrets.

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Credit: We're The Millers/Warner Bros

He said: "We talked to our vet about the tattoo. I knew what it meant."

He told the news outlet that he knew he would get ripped for posting it but that he doesn't care. "They can believe and say what they want," he said.

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"But the tattoo is not for them, it's for me."

He went on to explain that the tattoo means he can carry his dog with him wherever he goes.

He added: "A lot of people are saying 'I'd do anything for my pet' but would you? Would you get a neutered sign tattooed on your bicep?"