The bond between a rescued dog previously used for breeding and his new owner determined to help him “blossom” has reduced animal lovers to tears.
Nikita Friedmann, 25, lives in San Jose, California, with her husband Steven and their dog Duke, whom they adopted in March and developed an instant bond with.
Friedmann told Newsweek that the unusual-looking dog is a cross between a flat-coated retriever and golden retriever, “which explains his cute golden paws and eyebrows”—and had an extremely difficult past before arriving to the safety of Friedmann’s home.
“We know he was in a pack of six other golden [and] flat-coated retrievers—some of them his brothers and sisters—and was used as a breeding dog,” Friedmann said. When he was rescued by Homeward Bound Golden Retriever Rescue, the shelter believed “he was living outside and had never been in a home before.”
Now a video of Duke’s second night in Friedmann’s home has gone viral online, showing him immediately latch onto a shirt of Friedmann’s for comfort.
The video, posted to Duke’s TikTok account @duketheflatcoatgolden on March 25, shows the newly-rescued dog receiving a cuddle from his new owner, with the bright yellow T-shirt in his mouth. Together, Duke and his owner settle down on the floor together, his tail wagging, as Friedmann appears close to tears—and the T-shirt still clamped in his jaws.
She wrote over the video: “POV: You rescue a dog who was used for breeding, never lived in a house, and was never shown love.
“You give him one of your shirts on day 2 to help him get adjusted, he grabs it instantly and doesn’t wanna let go of it. He shows you how much love he has to give.”
She went on to admit that the act “made me cry,” and revealed in the caption that Duke had begun to “blossom even more in his new home,” adding: “Dogs are the most beautiful creatures on earth. Duke, I love you.”
Friedmann explained to Newsweek: “I gave him one of my shirts and he took it right away, he wouldn’t want to let go—and that moment I knew, he was all we wanted and so much more.
“You could see in his little eyes that all he wants is love, and that he will love and trust us. It was the best ever, I cried when he did that because it meant so much to me, knowing he is so loved by us and knowing he already loves us unconditionally too.”
TikTok users were in pieces, one user writing: “I’m CRYINGGG thank you for helping him mama.”
Another predicted that Duke is “gonna be a cuddler,” as another wrote alongside a crying emoji: “That sweet little baby, thank you for loving him.”
And as one user put it: “Ladies and gentlemen, you just witnessed a soul bond in action.”
Dogs may get attached to certain items that have their owners’ scent on them, and may cuddle up or carry them with them when their owner isn’t around, according to Wag! Dogs may also grab their favorite blanket or toy to help them overcome fears or anxiety, such as when there are new smells in the home, or if the dog is going to a new area.
Friedmann, who also posts to Instagram under the same username, told Newsweek that she and her husband knew “the minute we saw Duke” that he was going to be “the best dog we could’ve ever asked for.”
“He knows how to sit, listens so well to his name, and is overall just perfect. He loves belly rubs and pets, he comes to us and puts his paw on our thigh if he wants pets—it’s the cutest thing ever—and when you pet him, he sometimes lets his cute tongue just hang out on the side.”
She added that their hope is to earn Duke’s complete trust, “so we can show him what dog life is really like.”
“He sometimes still is a bit anxious or skittish around certain noises, probably associated with past trauma, but over time we are sure he will not be an anxious dog anymore, knowing he has us around him, [that] we’ll protect him and he will protect us.”
“It’s the best thing in the world to give a rescue dog a home and seeing how they blossom into their personalities that they never got to have before.”
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