A New York City woman was “convinced” her rescue dog had gotten seriously injured during a walk in Central Park, until they got home and she spotted something.
Abby adores her Maltese Shih Tzu Buff. “He has the spunkiest personality,” she told Newsweek. “He’s 5 and loves Central Park.” But Buff wasn’t loving a recent trip there. Walking their usual route together, Abby noticed Buff was agitated and struggling to walk even a single step.
“He got really riled up,” she said. “Usually when he has something in his paw, he won’t move that one leg, but he wouldn’t walk at all or hobble, so I thought something really bad happened like he hurt his back or spine.”
Abby would do just about anything for Buff. She is not alone in that respect. In 2023, the Pew Research Center found 97 percent of pet owners consider their animals to be part of the family.
So, when Abby saw Buff was struggling to even move, she stepped up in the only way she could. “I carried him back from Central Park,” she said.
Arriving home fearing the worst, Abby decided to take a closer look at Buff’s injury. “I had my fiance hold him so I could do a paw check just in case,” she said.
That was when she spotted the cause of her rescue pup’s distress. “I saw an acorn perfectly encompassing his little paw pad,” Abby said. “I was so relieved.”
Suddenly, a situation that had been serious became a source of some amusement. It was at that point that Abby decided to document what had happened. “When I saw it, I got my phone and filmed it to show my fiance because it looked so silly,” Abby said.
She ended up sharing the clip to her TikTok, @abbyabbynyc, where it has already been watched over 2.2 million times.
Abby wrote alongside the video: “Carried Buff all the way back from the park because I was convinced he sprained his back paw playing…checked them all when we got home and what do we find…. A tiny acorn wedged perfectly around his little front paw pad!!!! My poor baby!!! But a much easier fix than a sprain!!! It was sort of a perfect fit???”
Animal lovers were enthralled, though a few were a little disappointed with how the video ended.
“I guess I should have filmed myself popping it out because people keep commenting to see it,” Abby said. “But I was more concerned with just getting it out quickly for him.”
Abby said she shared the clip online because “it was funny” but credits Buff and his adorable reaction to the discovery for helping the video go viral.
“His little face looked so bewildered,” she said. “I had never had a video pop off like that before.”
While the clip was shared online to spread a little cheer, Abby believes there is an important lesson to be learned from her experience. “Check your dog’s paws before they carry them home,” she said.