This 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas' Theory About Max Will Break Your Heart

A viral post about Max the dog from How The Grinch Stole Christmas is breaking hearts all across the Internet this week.

An Imgur user named named Baloo78 hit fellow users squarely in the feels last week with a new theory about the Grinch. The post spread like wildfire all across social media before long. It is based on a quote from the 2000 live-action adaptation of Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas starring Jim Carrey. The post bases a whole fan theory on one ominous quote.

"That's what it's all about, isn't it?" says the Grinch. "That's what it's always been about. Gifts, gifts... gifts, gifts, gifts, gifts, gifts. You wanna know what happens to your gifts? They all come to me. In your garbage. You see what I'm saying? In your garbage."

The feels when you realize Max was a Christmas puppy that someone didn't want anymore

As Baloo78 pointed out, this implies that everything the Grinch has was found in the trash -- "Which could explain how he got Max."

"He was a Christmas gift that someone got sick of / bored with and threw him in the trash," they went on. "This also explains why Max is so loyal to Grinch despite him being an awful person."

The post has racked up over 127,000 views and over 4,300 points on Imgur. Among its nearly 200 comments are many, many GIFs of crying people. Commenters praised the logic, feeling that it added depth to the story and further characterized the Grinch.

"Teenaged Grinch finds Max in the garbage, sighs, and gets him a bone," one person speculated. "'Don't feel too bad, little guy- they didn't want me either.'"

"Even if he was a bad person he cared for the dog even when he had nothing," someone else noted.

The post has also spread to other social media outlets. On Twitter, many users were ready to take up arms against Whoville right alongside The Grinch.

"They deserved their Christmas getting jacked," one person wrote.

pic.twitter.com/iNwqMfAs5B

— Drunk Meg™ (@Megtherocket) December 5, 2018

Of course, there were those who felt that the theory did not fit into the original canon. Some felt that the original poster was overlooking the scenes where Max seemed to mock the Grinch, while others thought they were missing the point of dogs altogether.

"The book says it's been 53 years, and I think the movie bore that out. Dogs don't live that long," one person pointed out.

"Fanfic can be fun. But dogs are just loyal because they're awesome, and max gives him sass so he's not afraid of losing the Grinch," added another.

Whatever the case, the idea captured the imaginations of many as The Grinch resurfaced for the holiday season. How The Grinch Stole Christmas is currently available to stream on Netflix.