A video of a dog leaving an animal shelter ahead of Hurricane Milton has touched TikTok users’ hearts.
As Florida residents either evacuate or brace for the storm, Miami-Dade Animal Shelter issued a plea for their animals to be fostered. One of those dogs is Trevor, whose story has now gone viral—amassing five million views on TikTok since it was posted on October 8.
The video, shared by @notgigimayonaise, captures the moment Trevor was picked up from the Doral-based shelter and driven to Gianna Mayo’s home, where he is later seen peacefully sleeping. While this is a great act of kindness demonstrated by Mayo, many users can’t help but feel sorry for Trevor, who was supposed to be staying for just three days.
“He thinks he finally made it…PLEASE keep him,” one user pleaded, while another added: “Omg I’m literally crying—he was so excited in the car. You have to keep him!”
Since then, Mayo has provided two updates. In the first, she reveals that Trevor’s stay has been extended to three weeks. The second update brings even more good news: Trevor has found a forever home. In response to one commenter, Mayo explained: “He is staying with us for the week because his new family can’t get him until the storm passes. I just want to do what’s best for him.”
A stock image of a dog sitting in a crate. A similar-looking dog has recently racked up millions of views in 24 hours.
Danielle King/iStock / Getty Images Plus
Studies show that social isolation is a major stressor for dogs in shelters, and human interaction has been proven to reduce their stress by lowering cortisol levels. Although short-term fostering programs, like the one Trevor benefited from, help relieve the stress of kennel life, the effects often fade when dogs return to the shelter. Research has also shown that while fostering temporarily reduces a dog’s stress, the amount of relief varies from shelter to shelter. Nonetheless, even a brief respite in a foster home can make a significant difference for dogs like Trevor.
A shelter worker in the original video emphasized this, stating: “ANY amount of time these dogs spend outside the kennel benefits them. Please stop telling people to keep foster dogs! If everyone kept their fosters, there would be no one left to foster.”
5 Tips To Calm Your Dog During Thunderstorms:
Dog trainer Diane Kasperowicz shared the following tips with Newsweek aimed to help owners soothe their dogs during extreme weather conditions.
- Keep Calm – “Try to maintain a calm demeanor and sense of normality if possible. Dogs are excellent at picking up on emotional signals from their owners, so if you panic your dog will react and panic too.
- Distract and Engage – “Play games with your dog to distract them or do simple training exercises like teaching your dog to sit and lie down or nose target your hand. Give them puzzle games to solve or treats in a toy to distract them and keep them busy.”
- Create a safe space – “If your dog wants to hide behind the sofa or under the bed, give them that freedom to do so and allow them to stay there until they feel safe enough to come out. Avoid forcing them to be with you if they’d rather take themselves off somewhere and self-soothe.”
- Comfort them – “Don’t let your dog struggle, give them a cuddle. Fear is a powerful emotional response to a perceived threat or danger that cannot be suppressed or controlled, but comforting your dog can reassure them and make them feel safer and less anxious.”
- Exercise with Precaution – “Dogs don’t understand weather, so it is important to minimize the risk of them becoming alarmed and bolting. If it’s safe enough to leave the house and exercise your dog, always.”
Newsweek reached out to @notgigimayonaise for comment via TikTok. We could not verify the details of the case.
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