A dog owner who adopted her pup from a shelter when he was already an adult has revealed how she feels about missing out on his puppy stage, leaving internet users in tears.
In a viral TikTok video shared on Saturday under the username @mushutherescuedog, the poster shared the first footage she has of her dog, which instead of featuring a small puppy misbehaving around the house, shows a grown dog falling in love with her from behind his kennel bars.
“I was robbed of my dog’s puppy stage because I adopted him from the shelter,” reads layover text in the clip. “So here’s the first video I have of him.”
The pup can be seen reaching out to her with his paw, looking at her with soft loving eyes as she gently pets him, showing him what love feels like for the first time. “My soul dog forever,” the caption reads.
Adult shelter dogs are often overlooked by potential adopters in favor of puppies, who tend to find a home much quicker than their older counterparts. But as countless of adoption stories have shown in the past, dogs who’ve experienced adult life in a shelter often turn out to be the most loving and loyal companions.
If your pup wags their tail every time they see you, they lick you, they lean on you or sit right by you, this means that they love you more than anything else in the world (except food!) and that you mean everything to them.
Bonus point if they make eye contact with you, which is otherwise uncommon in the canine world. A dog that loves their owner will also love playing with them, sleeping near them, and stealing their clothes so they can smell them all day long.
Bringing you their toys, learning your name, and showing you their belly while playing, are also signs that your dog feels safe and loved in your presence and that you’re their favorite human.
The video quickly went viral on social media and it has so far received over 193,000 views and 47,200 likes on the platform.
One user, Cydney, commented: “He was robbed of a puppy stage too but you’re giving him the life he dreamt of.”
Heath0 wrote: “As someone currently with a puppy you’re not missing out on anything.”
Nicolesuffredini added: “You may feel robbed of his puppyhood, but you ensured the rest of his life all he knew was love and kindness. You found each other when you needed each other.”
Newsweek reached out to @mushutherescuedog for comment vi TikTok comments. We could not verify the details of the case.
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