Rescue Dog Who Spent ‘First 5 Years Chained Outside’ Warm and Safe at Last

A video of a rescue dog that “barely survived the euthanasia list” at a shelter but now feeling loved and safe in his new home has gone viral on Instagram.

The clip was shared by @big.head.boys, the Instagram account of dog duo Bub and Simon, who were both rescued in 2020, according to the Instagram profile. The video has had more than 743,000 views since it was first posted on February 22.

A previous post said that “both Bub and Simon barely survived the euthanasia list” of a shelter in California.

A caption shared with the latest post reads: “Simey the Pure. This boy is the simplest happiest soul.” The video shows a sleepy-eyed dog slouched over on the arm of a sofa, snuggled up with a blanket.

A message overlaid on the clip reads: “He spent his first 5 years chained outside but will spend the rest of his years cuddled up with his blankie and jammies getting more love than he could have ever imagined.”

Social isolation is among the greatest stressors for dogs in animal shelters, noted a March 2019 study in PeerJ. Research has shown that “human interaction reduces cortisol in shelter dogs, with the possibility that longer periods of interaction may yield greater effects,” the study found.

The results showed that “dogs’ cortisol [a hormone regulating stress]: creatinine [a waste product produced by the muscles] ratios dropped significantly during their fostering stay, but returned to baseline levels after return to the shelter.”

The dogs were also found to have had “their longest bouts of rest during sleepovers, followed by in the shelter after their sleepovers,” according to the study.

Each year, 6.3 million pets enter U.S. shelters, which is an average of 17,260 a day, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The number of dogs and cats taken in by pet shelters hit 46,807 during January 2023, an increase of 1,744 compared with January 2022, the 24Pet ‘Shelter Watch Report’ found.

Around 920,000 surrendered animals are euthanized every year. Shelters are striving to minimize euthanasia rates by promoting adoption campaigns, spaying and neutering programs, and behavior rehabilitation.

‘Look at That Face’

The caption shared with the latest viral post says that the dog in the clip “doesn’t dwell on the past or think about the future – he literally has one thought in his big head at any given time, and it’s usually ‘I love you.’

“All he wants is for someone to make eye contact with him so he can start thumping his tail, giving kisses, and letting out woos of joy! I think the world would be a better place if we were all a little more like my big man (minus the excessive licking, maybe),” the caption concluded.

Users on Instagram were moved by the latest dog rescue story, such as christy.coogan who wrote: “This is so wonderful, look at that face and how comfortable he is now. Thank you for being Simon’s champions and bringing him into your lives, so happy for all of you.”

“That’s the look of someone knowing they are loved, and safe, and protected,” posted sup_fan2012 and asquaredlovespurple agreed, noting “That face says it all!…”

User cheregwynn wrote: “Thank you for taking this dog in and giving him the love he should have experienced all his life.”

“Why do some people think animals have no feelings. Hope he spends many years safe, happy and loved,” commented konskieranne.

Newsweek has contacted the original poster for comment via Instagram. This video has not been independently verified.

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