Sea Lion Pup Hops On For A Hug … Cuteness Overload

Photo credit: NBC San Diego

Is every animal lover in the world is wishing they were Dan Murphy right now?! Cause we sure are!

Dan was catching some waves and relaxing on his surfboard at Cardiff By-the-Sea when he made a unsuspected friendship that he will never forget.

A sea lion pup hopped up onto Dan’s board and literally gave him a hug!

The cutest thing you’ve ever seen, right? Right!

It gets better. After about 20 minutes, the pup climbed around and sat in Dan’s lap!

Murphy expects that this was one of the pups rescued by SeaWorld since it was healthy and so comfortable approaching and being around humans.

You see a lot of wildlife. You see those pups around this time of year. I’ve never seen them interact with people like that.” – Dan Murphy

The bonding continues as Dan plays “Push me around!” with his new friend…

Then, they head back out to sea…

And turn around to take the most adorable picture ever!

Best buds just hanging out.

The pup hung around for over an hour and eventually Dan, holding back tears, nudged the little guy along and waved goodbye to his newfound friend.

What an awesome experience! #Jealous

All photos sourced from NBC San Diego.