Losing a pet is a pain like no other, and many owners will search for signs after they say goodbye. So, when Lindsey Shelton opened her phone just a week after losing her rescue dog, she couldn’t believe her eyes at what she saw.
On July 31, Shelton and her husband had to make the devastating decision to put down their rescue dog, Murphy, at the age of 10 years old. They had rescued him when he was just a year old, and Shelton, 32, told Newsweek that he “meant everything” to them.
They had been on a road trip and Murphy loved all the hiking, but after a few days, he slowed down dramatically. He became lethargic and got worse by the day, so he was taken to the vets where his owners received the tragic diagnosis.
Murphy was diagnosed with terminal cancer, leaving Shelton and her husband with the decision that every pet owner dreads.
“Murphy bonded so well with my husband, and we always said he was more cat-like than dog, and wise beyond his years,” Shelton, of Los Angeles, said. “He gave the most judgmental side-eye and funniest faces. You could tell exactly what he was thinking.
“When we lost Murphy, we’d just got back from a road trip to The Redwoods and Oregon. We moved into an RV and traveled everywhere with our dogs. They adapted so easily and were always up for the adventure.”
In the days after saying goodbye to Murphy, thought to be a wirehaired pointer mix, Shelton felt like her home was empty. She kept listening out for his footsteps and was desperate to hold him in her arms once more.
Shelton and her husband have long advocated for rescuing and fostering animals, and she was open to the idea of helping another dog to “help the ache” in her heart.
But when she opened the adoption website Petfinder, she was stunned by the first dog who popped up.
“Being in LA, I knew there were probably hundreds of rescues and shelters to choose from, so I just wanted to start by browsing Petfinder. I didn’t change the location setting so I stumbled upon a dog called Murphy who happens to be in Pennsylvania,” Shelton said.
Not only was this dog also called Murphy, but he looked just like Shelton’s late dog. As soon as she saw the similarities, Shelton “lost it” and had to show her husband.
She couldn’t resist sharing this on TikTok (@scrubhacks) because she was so shocked by the discovery. The video has since gone viral with over 668,100 views and 112,100 likes at the time of writing.
“I thought it was crazy. I couldn’t tell if it was some cruel joke from the universe, or if it was a simple hello from our Murphy. I opened his profile and kept looking, screenshotted it and sent it to our friends,” Shelton told Newsweek.
Prior to that day, Shelton had received a message from a psychic medium who told her that Murphy was “showing her something green.” Murphy was wrapped in a green blanket when he was put down, but as it turns out, there was even more to it than that.
The Murphy who appeared on Petfinder was wearing a green collar in all his pictures, which seemed incredibly poignant. Shelton was hesitant, but she couldn’t deny the signs.
“Losing a dog is a pain I wish on no one. However, the signs were insane. A dog that looks like my Murphy, named Murphy. Wearing a green collar. He’d been listed for 10 months—our Murphy was put to rest at 10 p.m. at 10 years old. I looked up the number 10 and it symbolizes completion, new beginnings and divine order,” she said.
Shelton was more than happy to transport Murphy from Pennsylvania to start a new life with her, however the rescue organization felt this could prove detrimental. As he struggles with severe anxiety and separation anxiety, traveling across the country wasn’t ideal.
That hasn’t stopped Shelton though, as she is still hoping to find a forever home for Murphy 2.0.
Sharing this experience on social media has been an incredible experience for Shelton, who has connected with so many other people who struggled to move on after losing a pet. She also hopes this will encourage more people to consider adopting and opening their hearts to an animal in need.
She said: “There are so many stories like ours—people who lost beloved pets and felt they couldn’t move on. Then, often too soon, another animal comes along who needs a home and people felt like it healed a piece of them.”
Thousands of TikTok users have taken to the comments section to share their amazement at what Shelton found, leading to more than 8,200 comments on the viral video so far.
One comment reads: “The universe isn’t talking to you, it’s SCREAMING at you. That’s your dog, you better go get them.”
Another TikTok user wrote: “If this isn’t a sign, I don’t know what is.”
While one person replied: “Murphy is back… (he’s sending you a gift).”
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