Going for a run isn’t typically Antonio’s morning routine, but in his attempt to get back into the habit, he went out one day, only to stop midway through after finding nine puppies abandoned on the roadside.
The nursing school student was shocked by what he found. He stopped mid-run as nine puppies came racing toward him. He couldn’t leave them there and since he had no vehicle, he recruited a friend to drive over because no other cars would stop to help, he told Newsweek.
The two gathered the puppies, brought them back to his house and immediately started networking to get the puppies out to forever homes. He even returned to the location to check if they missed any or if the mom was roaming around. But no others turned up.
Antonnio said it was his turn with the “distribution system” in his April 3 TikTok video shared to the account @150and151. Plus, he figured he had no excuse not to help the dogs since he lives alone and owns his home and didn’t need to ask anyone else.
@150and151/TikTok
Antonio kept the puppies in the backyard during the day and in the garage at night. He looked after them while constantly reaching out to others in his community to see if anyone wanted a puppy, as he didn’t want to take them to an animal shelter.
His hard work paid off. Within 41 hours of his picking up the puppies, all nine were already off to their forever homes.
“I’m glad I was able to find them all homes so quickly, but I hope this never happens again,” he said.
He has since received updates from those who adopted the dogs. They said they had fleas and worms, but otherwise they were well nourished. The puppies are believed to be 7 to 9 weeks old.
“It was the worst April Fools’ Day I ever had,” he said. “I was wondering who could have the heart to look at those nine puppies and just leave them.”
‘Won at Life’
Viewers quickly became invested in this rescue story, as the TikTok video reached over 6.1 million views in the first two days since it posted. People were shocked to hear there is not just a cat distribution system but a puppy one too.
“Why can’t this happen to me?” asked one viewer.
Another shared some jealousy: “You literally won at life.”
Others applauded his selfless act: “Thank you for helping theses babies.”
Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to [email protected] with some details about your best friend, and they could appear in our “Pet of the Week” lineup.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.