Tam’s voice tells a story of letting go. Buddy Boy’s howl tells a story of being found. Together, they’re creating something that feels nothing short of magic.
Western Cape, South Africa (30 December 2025) – Grief makes us quiet. Music helps us speak again. And sometimes, if we’re lucky, a dog sings the harmony.
When Tamarin Moelans (Tam) adopted Buddy Boy after losing her two beloved rescues, she thought she was giving him a new start. Instead, he helped give her one too. Their singing video, a heartfelt duet to her song ‘Don’t Go Wasting Time’, is giving us all the feels… for all the right reasons.
The video is simple. Tam with her guitar and harmonica, Buddy Boy beside her, waiting for his cue. The music starts, and when she reaches the harmonica section, Buddy throws his head back and howls with a conviction that feels almost spiritual. It’s incredibly cute, and healing, and impossibly moving all at once. And social media agrees.
“This is too adorable, you picked a gem there Tam.”
“Best duet ever.”
“Oh my gosh I LOVE this.”
But what feels like a light-hearted moment to viewers is rooted in something much deeper. Tam’s journey hasn’t been easy. We chatted to her to get the full story.
“On the 31st of January 2024, my beloved 15-year-old rescue, Maggie-May, passed away. On the 24th of January 2025, my beloved 12.5-year-old rescue, Riley, passed away too. I was absolutely heartbroken and still cry hot tears because I miss them so much.”
She wasn’t looking for a new dog. She wasn’t ready. Then one day, while scrolling Facebook, a picture appeared: a dog with eyes that seemed to know loneliness yet still held light.
“I was merely browsing Facebook and saw a picture of a dapper gentleman with the most gorgeous eyes, who literally reeled my heart in. I was not planning on getting another furbaby but found myself writing a comment: ‘I love him but live in Cape Town.’”
A week later, Buddy Boy was in her home, after an 8.5-hour lift from St Francis Bay with the help of volunteers who believed he deserved a new start too.
“When he jumped out of the car, he ran straight into the house as if he had always lived there. He was immediately at home.”
And in that moment, something in Tam shifted. The house was quieter without Maggie-May and Riley but no longer empty.
Buddy’s past, however, makes his joy even more remarkable. Tam explains that he was initially named Bullet by his first owner, who apparently struggled with addiction.
“His first owner was suspected of stealing, so his shack was destroyed by his neighbours, and he fled, leaving Buddy wandering and lost in the village.”
From there, he passed through several hands, instability, fear, uncertainty… until the St Francis Animal Rescue confiscated him.
“They named him Brian. In February 2025, he was taken into foster care with a wonderful and amazing volunteer called Grant. One month later, we adopted him and named him Buddy because he would be our Buddy Boy for the rest of his life.”
He is now part of her family. Buddy is her family.
During the week, their property buzzes with activity. Buddy greets visitors in a bow-tie, tail wagging like he’s welcoming long-lost friends. He hikes. He goes for coffee. He explores Cape Town with Tam like someone making up for lost time.
“I do not have children of my own and being responsible for a furbaby is a privilege and a joy for me.”
And then there’s the music.
“I was playing the harmonica one evening and Buddy Boy threw his head back and started singing with gusto. It has become his party trick.”
As a musician, Tam has always shared her music with her dogs. None of them ran away, she jokes, so she assumes they enjoyed it. But Buddy’s voice, as raw and unpolished as it is, feels like something else. It feels like gratitude.
Her most recent video, ‘Don’t Go Wasting Time’ was born from a personal reckoning.
“I am a recovering approval addict, overthinker and perfectionist. I have in the past sabotaged THE NOW due to overthinking the WHAT IFs,” Tam shares. “I wrote the song to remind myself that I cannot control the uncontrollables and inevitables. It is a song about not holding back and living life to the full, each and every second of each and every day.”
Buddy Boy is the reminder made real. In tail wags. In trust rebuilt. In every howl that says, without words, I am safe now.
He teaches Tam every day what it means to stay present.
“Buddy Boy has taught us so much: how to be brave, how to trust people in spite of being hurt by some, how to go with the flow, how not to take things too seriously, how to show gratitude with kisses and paws, and how to be friendly all the time.”
So what does Tam hope someone hears when they listen to her song during their own season of heartbreak or worry?
“Stop trying to control the uncontrollables and inevitables. Live large. Live lightly. Forgive people even if they do not deserve it. Be present in every second of every hour of every day. Don’t go wasting time.”
For South Africans heading into a new year, her message stays the same. Filled with hope, grace and those oodles of love she talks about. And standing beside her, proof of it all, is Buddy Boy, the pup who sings, the pup who stayed, the pup who reminds her every day that healing is possible and joy is worth choosing.
by 