Watch ‘Terrified’ Dog’s First Night In A Forever Home After Being Rescued

A social media video of a dog who had been neglected in a puppy mill being adopted by a new family has, in equal parts, broken hearts and uplifted viewers online. The viral video, which has been viewed more than 580,000 times since it was first shared to TikTok on August 18, compiled footage from the rescue golden doodle’s first day in her new home.

The video’s creator and puppy’s new owner, who goes by @CaseyRiveter on TikTok, introduced audiences to Raven, a 5-month-old puppy who had been rescued a year ago from an unethical breeding business.

Raven was seen at the beginning of the video sitting inside a small cage while waiting to be transported to her new home. The woman stood beside her shared that the puppies in the mill had been neglected and were living in poor conditions after a larger litter of them were not fully rehomed.

The video then jumps forward to Raven’s first moments in her new home, which she’s said to be loving a year later. The rescue puppy looked scared and anxious in the clips featured, while her owner revealed that she’d never been inside a house before and as a result had no idea how to walk up the stairs.

“She’d never been inside a home, and stairs terrified her so I carried her up them every day for weeks,” Raven’s owner wrote across the post while viewers were shown clips of the dog being carried up the small flight of stairs.

Although Raven has settled into her new home well, her owner revealed that she’d been so distressed during her first few weeks there that she did not start to wag her tail until much later.

The rescue puppy now lives in Chicago with the family.

What Are The Stats On Rescue Animals?

Each year 6.3 million pets are surrendered to U.S. shelters, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

The number of dogs and cats taken in by pet shelters hit 46,807 during January 2023, an increase of 1,744 compared with January 2022, the 24Pet ‘Shelter Watch Report’ found.

Around 920,000 surrendered animals are euthanized every year. Shelters are striving to minimize euthanasia rates by promoting adoption campaigns, spaying and neutering programs, and behavior rehabilitation.

What Do The Comments Say?

Since it was shared to the social media platform on August 18 by @CaseyRiveter, the TikTok post has been liked by over 54,000 users and commented on more than 1,400 times.

One user wrote: “I’ve got a puppy mill boy I rescued. He is blind from blunt force trauma. He is my everything. But he still, 7 years later, suffers from trauma.”

“Precious angel baby,” another user added.

The TikTok post can be seen here.

Newsweek reached out to @CaseyRiveter for comment via TikTok.

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