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A video of a teenager being surprised with a puppy for her birthday has delighted users on TikTok.
The video shared by @andyshell59, which had over 106,000 likes at the time of writing, was overlaid with a message that read: "Ellie's early 18th birthday surprise."
The video shows a dog cage adorned with balloons placed in the hallway leading to the main front door of a home. A letter posted on a mirror along the wall read: "Hi Ellie, I know you've been waiting 18 years for me but I'm here now. Happy 18th!! xxxx."
Later in the video, a young woman opens the door and is shown stunned in silence, standing with her hand on her mouth while staring down at a small puppy inside the cage.
After an extended moment of continued sheer shock, as a young man who arrived at the house with her says "Oh my god," the woman approaches the cage and gets a closer look at the tiny puppy as it stands up against the wall of the cage.
According to a study published in early May 2021 in the journal Frontiers in Veterinary Medicine, "the global interest in pet adoptions surged" in the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, based on Google Trends searches using keywords related to pet adoption.
From 2015 through 2020, the relative search volume (RSV) worldwide for pet, dog and cat adoption hit a peak between April and May 2020, the early epidemic phase of the pandemic.
"These were significantly higher than the 5-year worldwide average RSV for all three categories" and compared to the same period in 2019, "the RSV ratio (2020/2019) for both dog and cat adoption increased by up to 250 percent," the study said.
A late May 2021 study of over 5,000 people conducted by the The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) showed that around 23 million households in the U.S. got a pet during the COVID-19 pandemic and "most will not consider rehoming their pet."
Matt Bershadker, ASPCA President and CEO, stated: "This incredibly stressful period motivated many people to foster and adopt animals, as well as further cherish the pets already in their lives, and our recent research shows no significant risk of animals being rehomed by their owners now or in the near future as a result of the lifting of pandemic-related restrictions."
The latest viral video has melted hearts on TikTok, with several users moved to tears.
In a comment that got 1,569 likes, one user said: "I think she's in love! That is just the cutest puppy. Happy 18TH birthday to your daughter."
Another wrote: "That message on the mirror is excellent, so beautiful x" in a comment that got 978 likes.
A third said: "Wow made me cry," while user2412237089535 wrote: "Simply adorable .. unconditional love right there , hope you have many years together.. Happy 18th."
A fourth said: "I was crying so much at this video that the photo was blurry at the end."
About the writer
Soo Kim is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. She covers various lifestyle stories, specializing in Read more