This is the moment a dog stands over the dead body of another dog in the middle of a busy motorway.

The poignant footage was filmed on the BR-101 motorway in the municipality of Guarapari in the south-eastern Brazilian state of Espirito Santo on the morning of 4th June.

In the footage, the female dog can be seen standing directly over the body of the male dog, which had been hit by a car.

The footage shows how the female dog is determined to protect the deceased dog despite being in the middle of a busy motorway amid oncoming vehicles.

She can be seen directly facing the oncoming traffic with her front legs in front of the male dog’s body and her hind legs behind it.

She can be seen in the middle of one of the lanes of the two-lane motorway, undeterred by the danger that sealed her pal’s fate.

Passing motorists appear to have been moved by the scene, even slowing down as they passed the grieving animal and her limp, lifeless pal.

The footage was filmed by traffic police while a team from EcoRodovias, the company that manages the motorway, removed the two animals from the road.

Details of the accident that it was later confirmed had killed the large, black canine are not known, and the incident was not filmed.

It is also unknown if the two pooches were family or friends, though they appear to be of the same breed.

After being removed from the scene, the female dog was released on a ranch in the nearby municipality of Serra.

It is unclear why she was not taken to a dog pound.