A social media video of a rescue dog's transformation from being timid and frightened to craving affection from his owners has tugged at heartstrings across the internet.
The viral video, which has been viewed more than 102,000 to date, introduced TikTokers to Soul, a 4-year-old greyhound who was rescued by his forever family last year. Soul's owner, the video's creator, shared with viewers that the dog previously suffered from anxiety and nervousness but has grown in confidence since moving into his new home.
Sadly, many dogs are less fortunate than Soul, and the U.S. is still facing a serious challenge when it comes to finding homes for all the pets that are surrendered to animal rescue shelters every year. Each year across the country, 6.3 million pets are surrendered to shelters, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), an average of 17,260 every day.
@soulthegrey so grateful to have him in our lives 💘 #rescuegreyhound #greyhoundsoftiktok #dogsoftiktok #greyhoundlove #adorabledogs #welovedogs #rescueanimals #pets #greyhound #sighthoundlove #rescuedog #cutestanimals #greyhounds #sighthounds
♬ Until I Found You - Krac
"When we first adopted our greyhound he didn't really show any affection and we couldn't tell if he liked being stroked," Soul's owner wrote across the post while viewers were shown a clip of the dog looking nervous beside his new owner.
The TikTok video then fast-forwarded to the present day, where he greyhound can be seen standing close to his owner and lapping up all the attention he gets from her.
"One year on, when we're in the garden he will stand very close to us and it's his way of asking to be stroked. He loves it," Soul's owner adds.
The American Kennel Club (AKC) describes the greyhound breed as being gentle and noble, which fits in well with Soul's temperament.
What Do the Comments Say?
The video was shared to the social media platform on September 3 by @SoulTheGrey, a TikTok account dedicated to documenting the rescue dog's emotional journey.
"Omg this is such a sighthound thing! My whippet will just walk over and… *lean* until we stroke him," one user wrote.
"This just made me cry, in the best way. He reminds me so much of my old greyhound, I miss him so much. He did exactly the same thing," another user added.
The TikTok post can be seen here.
Newsweek reached out to @SoulTheGrey via TikTok for comment.
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