A woman has shared her anger and heartbreak at how her newly adopted golden retriever acted on her first night in her new home.
Raegan, who posts to TikTok under the username @rae.gan.gosh, owns two golden retrievers: Honey, who she’s had from a puppy, and Daisy, who she took in this year from someone giving her away for free online.
Golden retrievers have long been popular family pets, noted by the American Kennel Club for being great with young children, affectionate towards family, and friendly with other dogs.
But in one post to her TikTok, Raegan said Daisy’s previous owners wanted to get rid of her—as she was “too annoying.”
Now, Raegan has reflected on the first night they brought Daisy home, and how she was so scared, she wouldn’t even leave her crate.
In a clip viewed close to 90,000 times since being posted in August, Daisy stands in her crate, nervously watching everything around her. She slowly creeps forward in order to grab a treat from the floor right outside the crate, and then retreats right back in to where she knows is safe.
Raegan described the video as “the night we brought our rescue dog home and she was terrified to leave her crate and would shake uncontrollably when we tried to pet her.”
She added in the caption: “I just need 2 mins alone with her previous owners.”
TikTok users were devastated, one admitting: “I’ve never seen such a sad golden retriever before,” with another agreeing: “They are literal rays of sunshine, and the fact this poor baby has experienced a storm breaks my heart.”
And as one put it: “It just always feels even worse with goldens when you see this because of their natural disposition to wake up like every day is the best day ever.”
Plenty of commenters urged Raegan to give Daisy the “best life possible,” with one guessing: “I’m sure she is thriving with you all now.”
And in a video response, Raegan happily confirmed this was the case, showing Daisy sleeping on the sofa cuddled up to her new owners, and writing: “She’s spoiled rotten now. As it should be.”
Newsweek has contacted @rae.gan.gosh via TikTok for comment on this story.
Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to [email protected] with some details about your best friend and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.