‘Bittersweet’ Moment Dog Says Goodbye To Friends In High-Kill Shelter

A poignant video of a dog leaving a high-kill animal shelter has racked up over 26 million views on TikTok.

The footage, shared by @sandy.dog.rescue, shows a puppy excitedly saying goodbye to his companions, who remained behind the kennel glass, their eyes filled with a mix of joy for their friend and sadness for their futures.

“When a dog goes to its forever home, it can be bittersweet but it is mostly so exciting. It means that the dog gets to start its new life and we get to save another life,” Emma Fresco, the founder of a rescue that saves dogs from high-kill shelters in California called Sandy Dog Rescue, told Newsweek.

Racking up 5.4 million likes, the heartbreaking video shows a mixture of emotions from the other dogs; one can be seen jumping up the glass while wagging its tail, but the rest seem to have given up.

Each scene features overlaid text, displaying quotes that represent what Fresco imagines the dogs are thinking. These include phrases like: “Yay, you made it! Go live your best life and enjoy the life outside for us.”

Fresco told Newsweek: “At the shelters, whenever a dog leaves a kennel, the other dogs usually get pretty excited and riled up. Dogs are naturally pack animals so I think they get so excited to see each other and just want to interact.

The video was recorded at Riverside County (West) Animal Shelter in Jurupa Valley, California—which is not associated with Fresco’s rescue, but they save many dogs from there.

Fresco said: “Although they have many kennels, the amount of dogs coming in is just too much, so they have to euthanize dogs that have been there for a while with no interest.”

Each year, approximately 920,000 shelter animals are euthanized (390,000 dogs and 530,000 cats), according to data from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA).

Fresco explained that many of the canines are either strays or have been surrendered by their owners.

She said: “It is never the dog’s fault it ends up there, just the irresponsibility of humans. This shelter is also always full of puppies because people don’t spay or neuter their pets.

“Most of the dogs have no behavioral or health issues, they’re perfectly good dogs who have been let down by humans.

“Our vice president, Martina Depuala, and I have made it our mission to save as many dogs as we possibly can.

“Our goal in making this video was to spread awareness on the shelter crisis in California and show people there are so many amazing dogs sitting in shelters who never get a second chance at life.”

TikTok Users React

The video has gained a lot of attention online and received more than 63,000 comments.

“OH MY GOSH WHY ARE YOU BREAKING MY HEART,” said one user.

Another wrote: “Hate that this is a reality for so many innocent pure souls, they deserve so much better.”

“Literally uncontrollably sobbing,” said a third commenter.

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