Tears As 18-Year-Old Dog Taken To Be Euthanized ‘Clinging’ to Owner’s Leg

One owner is celebrating the first anniversary of her rescue dog who was originally dragged to the shelter by his previous owner to be euthanized.

Hearts broke at the Charlotte, North Carolina, shelter when the 18-year-old dog named Seymour was brought in. The previous owner wanted the dog euthanized. Seymour could barely walk and was “clinging” to his owner’s leg. That didn’t change the previous owner’s mind.

But talk about being in the right place at the right time as TikTok user @chrissyfnf saw these events unfold right before her eyes. The senior dog had rotting skin, infections, and tumors. She immediately stepped in and saved Seymour.

“There was no way I would let your old bones go lay on that floor to die alone,” the caption on the January TikTok video reads.

The recent TikTok video shows Seymour’s transformation from being unwanted and sick to living his best life. The owner said in the caption that it started as a rescue mission for him, but in the past year, it turned out that Seymour saved her.

Nearly 19 now, Seymour celebrated all the different birthdays within the family over the past year. He even dressed up for Halloween with the kids and enjoyed the holiday season, snuggling by the fire.

The selfless rescue, which has over 485,600 views and 59,000 likes, has brought viewers to tears.

“I’m sobbing. I don’t know how people can do this to a senior! I would do anything to have mine back! Thank you for taking him in…” wrote one TikTok user.

Another user: “I can’t help but cry tears of joy. You have the heart of gold to take this precious baby with you.”

The owner told Newsweek that spreading awareness about rescuing is important and Seymour’s story has reached millions. The original video of his rescue had nearly 2 million views.

Seymour has a happy ending and is living out his golden years with a loving family, but unfortunately, not every pet will have the same fate.

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.

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