Caribbean Dog Rescued in ‘Grave Condition’ Has Best Reaction to Seeing Snow

A pet owner has shared their 9-year-old rescue dog’s reaction to seeing snow for the first time after the toughest of starts to life.

Reggie, a mixed-breed dog, is originally from St. Kitts in the Caribbean, where he was adopted by Aly, a veterinarian who was practicing on the island at the time. Aly told Newsweek Reggie was discovered in a “grave condition” before she adopted him at just four months old.

“He was found alone in a junkyard and had a degloving injury to his lower jaw, severely emaciated, multiple tick-borne diseases and required blood transfusions in order to make a recovery,” she said. “I adopted him through the rescue, and he became my partner in crime through veterinary school on St. Kitts.”

Though Reggie has battled with other illnesses and health conditions and even undergone surgery over the years, Aly said he remains “the happiest dog I know” and a constant source of positivity in her life.

“On the island, we fostered and rescued many local animals,” she said. “Reggie helped raise every one of them. He is our eldest at nine years old and is loved and respected by all the others.”

Those “others” include seven permanent animals and more than 10 different foster pets who have all thrived “under Reggie’s guidance.” Reggie has already beaten the odds to make it this far, with Aly revealing that when she first adopted him, she was told they had “no idea what his life expectancy was” and might “only have a few years to live.”

“He has exceeded that without any clinical signs,” she said. More recently, Reggie has been able to experience something every dog should: snow.

Dogs love snow for a multitude of reasons. Amelia Wieber, a certified dog behavior consultant, told Daily Paws that, on a surface level, the appeal stems from the fact that “it changes the appearance of the landscape, it’s fun to throw around, and it feels cool (pun intended!) to roll in it.”

There’s a sensory element to it, too.

“Snow likely has its own scent to dogs, and it may cover or enhance different scents whether they were laid before, during, or after the snow,” Wieber told the website. “Snow also gives dogs a new layer to dig through to find hiding critters and covered goodies, and any tracks left behind are easier to see and therefore follow.”

Whatever the case, Reggie, who has always loved playing on the beach (“His eyes just light up the second he hears the waves crashing and realizes we are approaching sand,” Aly said) got his first experience in the snow after the family relocated from North Carolina to Michigan.

The timing of the snow’s arrival could not have been better.

“He just recently healed from surgery for torn ligaments in his knee and was rested for 12 weeks,” Aly said. “He was only just now cleared to play without being on a leash. We did not have any snow on Christmas, and we joked that the snow waited for him to be healed.”

Like a child experiencing their first snow day, Reggie wasted little time in immersing himself in the fun of it all.

“With minimal hesitation, he dove in face first, not knowing what to expect,” Aly said. “He started digging and playing in the snow like he does at the beach. The only difference was that he was allowed to eat snow and ‘after many attempts’ was not allowed to eat sand.”

Aly shared footage of Reggie’s exploits in the snow to TikTok under the handle @WackDog. He clearly enjoyed the experience very much. In fact, maybe a bit too much.

“Despite the new cold temperatures it is very difficult to get him back inside after playing in the snow,” Aly said. “We are looking to get him in some winter boots so he can play in the snow longer without his feet getting cold.”

With Reggie’s favorite activities including “chasing snowmen and tackling them down,” it sounds like there’s no end to the frosty fun for this pup. While others might be praying for the cold weather to end, something tells us Reggie, and Aly for that matter, are happy to enjoy it a little while longer.