Watch Moment Rescue Dog Realizes He's Safe After Years of 'Fight or Flight'

The heartwarming moment a rescue dog realized he was safe and secure in the company of his foster carer has been caught on camera.

In a video posted to TikTok by super_dog_dad, the unusually named (M)Grant can be seen sleeping soundly on a stretch of carpet in his new home.

He stirs briefly, looking up at his new human friend, who is filming the interaction, before letting out a relaxed stretch and sauntering over to say hello.

It's a sign of how comfortable (M)Grant feels in his presence.

It has long been suggested that dogs rely on their owner to establish a secure base for interacting with the world around them, in a way similar to that found in a child and their parents.

In the case of human parents, this secure base effect can influence their daily lives and general cognitive ability and it's a similar story with dogs. In a 2013 study published in PLoS One, researchers conducted two experiments involving individual dogs who were placed in a room with a toy filled with treats.

The first experiment saw the dog tasked with playing with the toy in three distinct circumstances: once, with their owner present but silent, a second time with them present and offering encouragement and a third where the owner was absent.

The second experiment involved one further trial in which an unfamiliar person replaced their owner in the room. Researchers found that the dogs spent more time manipulating the toys while their owner was present, regardless of whether they were offering encouragement. These findings feed into the idea that a caring human provides this secure base in canines.

(M)Grant certainly appears to have found that base with his new foster carer, who has made sure to make him feel like part of the family, right down to his name.

Mike, his foster carer, already has two dogs named Mila and Moose, so it made total sense to give Grant a moniker in keeping with the rest of the clan.

Regardless of his unusual name, Mike's efforts are a reminder of the important role foster carers play in giving rescue dogs the confidence they need to go on to find a new forever home.

There have been countless examples of foster dogs benefiting from this kind of specialist care, including one recent example of a dog with a serious skin condition who ended up transformed with the help of his foster carer.

Despite their importance, foster carers are in short supply with the World Animal Foundation estimating that just 8 percent of U.S. households currently foster animals.

It's hoped that videos and stories like (M)Grant's will change that though. It's certainly made an impact on social media: The clip, captioned: "watching your foster dog slowly realize he is safe and doesn't need to live in fight or flight mode" has racked up close to 300,000 views on TikTok.

"That baby needs you so much! So glad he made it to you," one viewer wrote with another commenting: "I just want to squeeze him! He is finally realizing he is safe."

A third said: "Just the way he looks at you with so much love. He chose you," while a fourth added: "That's the absolute best part of fostering. Watching them realize they're safe and seeing their personality come out."

Here's hoping this is the first of many happy days to come for (M)Grant.

Newsweek has contacted Super_dog_dad on TikTok for comment.

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