A woman who adopts and fosters animals with special needs has revealed how foster dogs often don’t know how to behave when they arrive.
And her latest foster dog, Susie, has been breaking hearts on TikTok, in a clip where she didn’t know how to use a cushion - likely because she’s never seen one before.
While most dogs would jump at the opportunity to curl up on a cosy sofa pillow, the video sees little Susie sitting on the grass next to it, tentatively resting her chin.
The video - posted by user @ timberandkona - has been viewed over 657,000 times and was captioned: “Foster pups often don’t know how to ‘dog’ when they arrive. Simple tasks like stairs, or even getting comfortable can be firsts.”
The little crossbreed has been in her foster home for just under a week, and has been exploring a number of ‘firsts’, from cushions to walkies.
The Tiktoker, from Canada, said it took the pup half an hour to walk 40 metres because she was so unsure of the world.
And many owners of rescue dogs can relate to the emotional video, with one commenting: “Took my rescue dog a few months to start sitting on our sofa. He was always so scared, but now happily takes up all the space.”
Another said: “I was so excited when my dog finally learned to be a dog. I love when she’s just being a dog since she came to me all scared from the pound.”
“My dog had the same,” a third added, “I adopted her from Greece where she was abused by her family. She also didn’t know how to play with toys and how to cuddle.”
Susie is currently residing with an amputee dog called Kona, and Timber, who has cerebellar hypoplasia, as well as two cats, one of which is blind.
She’s slowly learning how to be a dog, with her foster parent sharing updates on their Instagram account each evening.
