Hearts Melt as Rescue Dog Holds New Owner's Hand Whole Way Home: 'Safe Now'

A touching video of a rescue dog's reaction to being adopted has gone viral on TikTok with more than 6.2 million views on the platform.

In the footage, Loki the rescue dog can be seen being driven to his forever home, a serene look on his face, with his paw in his new owner's hand. The text reads: "I adopted this dog and he held my hand the whole way home," with the caption reading, "He's such a sweet boy."

User weratedogs commented, "so glad he found his forever home, he knows he's safe now," while another wrote, "100/00 gentleman!! he keeps looking at you!!"

The changes in dog ownership trends, including a move away from the desire for a 'designer dog,' have contributed heavily to a reduction in dogs being euthanized at shelters.

The hashtag 'rescue dog' has over 9.8 billion hits on TikTok. According to a study from 2018 entitled Dog Population & Dog Sheltering Trends in the United States of America, euthanasia has been slowly on the decline since the 1980s in the U.S.

The study references data from The Humane Society of the United States comparing euthanasia statistics over the years in the U.S. Numbers decreased from 13.5 million animals in 1973 to 7.6 animals in 1985.

The HSUS says that the data collected indicates that "increased responsible pet ownership behaviors, sterilization efforts in shelters and private veterinary hospitals have played a role driving and sustaining the decline in unwanted animals entering shelters (and being euthanized)."

The data also showed that adoption numbers are rising slowly across the U.S. These "have become an additional driver of declining euthanasia numbers in the last decade," as well as a shift in attitudes towards thinking of pets as part of the family.

In 1984, New Jersey was the first state in the country to address its pet overpopulation issue with a state-wide low income, low-cost spaying and neutering program, which continues today. The 2018 study reported that this resulted in the amount of impounded dogs dropping by 75 percent from 1984 to 2014. The number of dogs euthanized has fallen by more than 90 percent over the same time period.

Users were thrilled by the rescue on TikTok. Michael commented: "I'm not crying. I don't cry. I'll never cry. But I'm going to need someone to finish this conjugation. There's something in my throat."

User phoenix rising wrote that "he loves and trust you already. thank you for changing his life."

User cleoaquino568 commented: "What a Sweet Sweet face...he can hold my hand anytime."

Newsweek has reached out to @abigailada12 via TikTok for comment.

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