A dog saved from a puppy mill is now living the pampered and loved life she deserves after she found “her human.”
Rachel Webster, 32, and her husband Tyler, 33, live in Ohio with their three children, and to say they are animal lovers is an understatement: The family has fostered over 140 dogs over the years.
This year, a very special foster dog came into their home: Carly the golden retriever, who had been repeatedly used for breeding and abused at a puppy mill and then given to another breeder, who tried to give her away once they were finished with breeding.
More From Newsweek Vault: The Top Rewards Credit Cards for Pet Owners
A “good citizen” stepped up to try to find a proper forever home for Carly, but the family that got her decided to surrender her to a shelter because they thought she was “a terrible dog.”
But that same good citizen urged them to instead give Carly to a rescue facility, and when Webster saw Carly’s photo on Planned Pethood’s site, she knew she wanted “to step up to foster her.” Carly then became the Websters’ whopping 141st foster dog.
It wasn’t an easy road. Carly had severe ear infections and was on medication for weeks, and the veterinarian couldn’t be sure of her age. The person who took Carly from the breeder said she had marks on her muzzle indicating it may have been “taped shut.” Webster told Newsweek that “to this day she never barks, which breaks my heart to think she was heavily punished for doing so.”
Carly immediately fit in with the Websters, and they formed a strong bond with her, but none more so than their 5-year-old daughter, Kennedy.
More From Newsweek Vault: Pet Insurance 101: How Much Does It Cost and Is It Worth the Price?
TikTok @theguiltygolden
While all of their children are used to fostering dogs and know they are a “steppingstone” to finding the pet’s forever home, Carly was different. The dog would follow Kennedy everywhere, watching her as she played and running around with her. Kennedy couldn’t sleep unless Carly was in the room with her, and “they quickly became best friends.”
More From Newsweek Vault: Lemonade Pet Insurance Review
It all led to Kennedy tearfully telling her parents that she “never wanted Carly to get adopted by another family and that she just loved her so much,” according to Webster.
“We knew they were meant to be in each other’s lives, and we decided for Kennedy’s fifth birthday to adopt Carly,” Webster said. “Kennedy says her favorite thing to do with Carly is to cuddle and watch TV and decided her nickname was Perfect Angel.”
Now, a video showing the bond between Kennedy and Carly has gone viral, with Webster sharing a sweet clip to her TikTok account, @theguiltygolden, that has been viewed close to 60,000 times and boasts 10,000 likes.
It shows Kennedy and Carly running together in their backyard. Kennedy is screaming with excitement before the pair land in a heap together. The little girl hugs her dog tightly and tells her she loves her before they get up and run together again.
TikTok @theguiltygolden
Webster wrote over the video: “Puppy mill survivor finds her human” and said in a caption: “Our puppy mill foster Carly made it impossible for us to not adopt her when she chose our daughter as her human. Sometimes they adopt us.”
TikTok users were hugely moved, with one writing: “You can just see the love that dog has for her.”
“This is what heaven at the rainbow bridge sounds like,” another said, and one wrote: “I want to give your puppy a big cuddle.”
And as one person put it: “She finally has a baby she can keep forever.”
Webster told Newsweek that when they got Carly she “loved” the toys they got for her and would “even carry them and place them in a safe spot as if they were her babies.”
“The only thing she is ever guilty of is chewing up a toy or being stubborn about coming inside if it’s a nice day. In those cases, she will come in if you first give her a belly rub.”
Aside from being Kennedy’s “perfect angel,” Webster said, Carly is also “a wonderful dog to every new foster that comes through our home.”
The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals says around 6.3 million animals, including 3.1 million dogs, enter shelters across the U.S. each year.
Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.
