A rescue dog had the most heartbreaking reactions as his owner packed up and got ready to move house.
Given everything he had been through in his life to date, it was understandable. In a video posted to TikTok under the handle @TCChantell, a pet owner from Arizona, who asked to be referred to simply as TC, shared footage of Toaster, the shelter dog she recently adopted.
Toaster can be seen in the clip sitting in his bed, appearing crestfallen, in an otherwise empty apartment. “We moved a couple of days ago,” TC told Newsweek. “I noticed he was getting anxious.”
TC quickly grasped why Toaster appeared so fearful. While she was always intending to take him with her when she moved, the sudden change in his surroundings must have left Toaster fearing the worst. That’s understandable, given what he had been through previously. “We couldn’t get any information about his previous home but he had been brought into the shelter when he was 18 months old,” TC said. “A couple months after being at the shelter he was adopted and then brought back the next day.”
Up until that point, all Toaster had known in his life was rejection and heartbreak. Having twice been taken to the shelter, in that moment he must have been left fearing he was about to go through the same thing all over again.
He need not have worried though. From the moment TC laid eyes on Toaster, a few days after he arrived at the shelter for a second time, she knew he was the dog for her. “I got him after my hamster passed away,” she said. “I was looking at dogs to adopt online and I came across his profile and thought he was so cute! I just had to get him. Something just felt right about him.”
It takes time for a rescue dog to settle into a new home and it’s crucial for human companions to show patience and compassion during this time.
Speaking to the American Kennel Club, dog trainer and behavior consultant Mary Angilly stressed the importance of providing rescue dogs with adequate time to decompress. “While [owners] might have the best intentions, new dogs have no idea where they are, who they’re with, or what is happening, and it takes time to build a positive relationship,” Angilly said. “The more patient a [owner] is, and the more choice a dog is given over seemingly simple things, the faster trust will build.”
While it’s impossible to know the circumstances that led to Toaster’s previous return by his adopter, from the outset, TC has taken a thoughtful and considered approach to helping him settle in.
So when Toaster’s anxiety about what was going on began to bubble to the surface, she was understanding. It wasn’t always easy. “I had packed a bag for us because we were going to have to spend a couple days at a hotel and he jumped into my bag and wouldn’t get out,” TC said. “It absolutely broke my heart seeing him so scared.”
However, TC was willing to put Toaster first at this important juncture in their relationship. “I messaged my manager and told them I wouldn’t be coming in. I just couldn’t leave him home alone with him not understanding what’s going on,” she said. “I’m honestly not sure why he was so anxious, maybe it has to do with something in his past.”
TC’s only regret in that moment was that she wasn’t able to properly communicate with her four-legged friend and tell him he had nothing to fear. Writing in the caption accompanying her TikTok video, TC vented “how do I explain to my shelter dog who was abandoned twice that he’s moving with me to our new home.”
Thankfully, in time and following the move, Toaster began to realize he was safe and loved. Now he’s beginning to flourish as a result. “He’s playing and getting more comfortable being alone around the house,” TC said. “For the first couple days he would just follow me around everywhere. Now, he will go and sunbath on the couch on his own.”
It will take time but with TC’s care, there will come a day when Toaster will have nothing left to fear.
