A once-overlooked pit bull named Flint has been adopted from a California rescue shelter after a heartbreaking video of his fear and isolation touched millions of viewers on TikTok.
Shared on June 22 by volunteer Jan Vega (@hicarsondogss), the TikTok post showed Flint curled in the back corner of his kennel at Carson Animal Shelter in Los Angeles County, too scared to approach anyone. Since being posted, the video has been viewed more than 2.1 million times.
The attention appears to have made a difference. Vega later updated the caption of the post to share the happy news that the dog had been adopted. “Flint was adopted by an amazing young woman!” Vega told Newsweek. “She even made him a TikTok.
“Her handle is @abitabucita; she posts tons of updates and Flint even has a rescue sibling from the Palmdale animal shelter.”
In the now-viral clip, Vega quietly cleans a kennel near 2-year-old Flint, who is barely visible in the background. Wearing a cone and tucked into the farthest edge of the space, he looks withdrawn and frightened.
“I was volunteering at the shelter on Friday when I noticed Flint, he’s been here since May, but he’s always tucked away quietly in a corner and he’s easy to miss,” an overlaid text on the video read. “He’s terrified here; he even peed on himself the first time a volunteer tried taking him out.”
Flint had arrived at the shelter as a stray, suffering from a visible mass and flea infestation.
“He’s very sweet and people friendly, just really scared,” Vega wrote in the original caption. “He’s on his second notice and will be euthanized soon if not adopted or picked up by a rescue.”
The video resonated immediately with TikTok viewers, many of whom flooded the comments with concern, encouragement, and pleas for someone to rescue the dog.
“Nothing sadder than the scared babies,” one viewer said, while another added: “Boosting someone please save this scared baby.”
The tone of the post shifted midway through, showing a breakthrough moment: Flint accepting affection from Vega, cautiously leaning into her touch.
Though Vega’s video initially served to bring attention to Flint’s vulnerable condition, it ultimately documented the beginning of his transformation. A dog who once trembled at the sight of volunteers is now in a home with another rescue companion.
While shelter dogs across the country often face grim odds—particularly those with medical issues or behavioral challenges—Flint’s story is a reminder of how a single moment of compassion, amplified online, can lead to lasting change.
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.
The post Terrified Shelter Dog Was About To Be Euthanized—Then Someone Saw Him appeared first on Newsweek.
