A shelter volunteer filmed a senior dog’s special day out hoping that it would help him find a foster home for his remaining days, and internet users can’t stop crying at the wholesome video.
In a viral Instagram post shared in November by @jsaraceno, the 12-year-old Chihuahua mix, named Cotton Eyed Joe, can be seen enjoying his day out with one of the volunteers, walking slowly as he flaunts his new Christmas sweater.
He even gets taken on a car ride to get every dog’s favorite treat, a pup cup! typically, a pup cup is a small cup filled with whipped cream, which is made for dogs. He made sure to eat every single drop of it.
“POV [point of view]: you promise a shelter dog an amazing day out and hope that posting it will find him an end of life foster,” reads layover text in the clip.
The poster, Julie Saraceno, told Newsweek that the sweet pup was brought into the shelter as a stray, and all he wants is a foster home where he can safely spend the rest of his days.
She added that the pup has “definitely been a medical case” but that has in no way broken his “happy spirit.”
Cotton Eyed Joe has a grade 3-4 heart murmur and is on kidney-support food, and while he is a little slow, he still manages to get around just fine.
“He loves his warm sweaters and will relax in his bed next to staff when he’s at the front desk,” added Saraceno.
Pet homelessness/abandonment is a massive issue in this country and shelters nationwide are constantly overwhelmed by the influx of newcomers. It is estimated that over 6.3 million pets enter U.S. shelters every year, for an average of 17,260 a day.
While most of them are re-homed, around 920,000 of them end up being euthanized every year, usually for lack of space in the facilities hosting them.
Thankfully, little Cotton Eyed Joe did manage to find a good foster home shortly after the clip was posted, where he can finally enjoy life without worrying about what will happen next.
The video quickly went viral on social media and it has so far received over 34,300 views and more than 5,100 likes on the platform.
One user, Lisaberkley, commented: “Aww this sweet boy deserves so much love.”
Jamierichards843 said: “It’s so hard for dogs to be in the shelter and even more so for senior dogs. Breaks my heart.”
Theresatecson_realtor added: “Praying from Florida. For his family to find him and love him.”
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.
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