Sleepy Pup Finds Forever Home After Going Viral During Adoption
Teddy's new family is going to have plenty of time to nap with him.
Published Dec. 17 2024, 3:59 p.m. ET
An Illinois rescue dog has melted hearts around the world after a video of him sleeping through an adoption event went viral.
The reason for the untimely snooze? According to one of the volunteers at the event, Teddy was so sure he wouldn't get adopted that he didn't even bother staying awake. The dog was in such a deep sleep that he could be heard snoring in the clip!
Continue reading to take a look at Teddy's video for yourself, see why he's gotten so much attention since going viral, and to get a happy update on Teddy's story.
Why was a dog sleeping through an adoption event?
Shelter volunteer Brittany Fleming captured the cute — yet heartbreaking — video of Teddy for her TikTok fans, writing, "When you sleep during the big adoption event because you don't believe anyone is coming for you" across the video.
The outpouring of love for Teddy was almost immediate. People jumped into the comments to ask if he had been adopted yet, while others offered to pay the fee if there was someone willing to take him home.
One woman even shared a story about how she had a similar experience with her very own pooch at the pound, writing about how she'd found him in a similar state.
"This was my baby, longest staying shelter resident at that time," she wrote in the comments. "He didn’t budge, he didn’t expect anyone to visit him…he left that day, and never went back! My very best friend in the whole world."
The sleeping shelter dog has been adopted.
Brittany posted a few updates about Teddy after the video of him went viral, including a super sweet update less than a month after introducing Teddy to the world, showing him getting into a car to drive off with his new family.
That's right, Teddy has taken his last nap at the Metro East Humane Society. As of Dec. 13, 2024, Teddy has found his forever home.
His happy parents shared an update with Brittany, which she was able to post for her followers and the short clip featured Teddy snuggled up with his new mom and dad.
This story had a happy ending for Teddy, but that's not always the case for these dogs. According to the ASPCA, an estimated 390,000 dogs a year never get another chance at finding a home and are instead euthanized in shelters. This highlights the continued importance of prioritizing adoption over purchasing puppies from breeders.
While the number of pets surrendered to shelters has declined over the years, there are still 6.3 million animals dropped off at these facilities yearly. That means dogs like Teddy are still looking for a new home.
Hopefully, his story inspires a few more people to visit their local shelters instead of pet shops when it comes time to grow their family by four feet.