A video showing a dog’s wary reaction to receiving her first toy has moved the internet.
Animals that have been severely mistreated and are lucky enough to be rescued often don’t know how to react when they receive love, care, and attention, and a video showing a dog’s wary way of receiving her first toy shows exactly that.
The clip was shared by Rocky Kanaka, a content creator well known on social media for his work with rescued dogs. He visits shelters across the United States and looks for the most difficult cases of dogs that have been abandoned or mistreated.
That was the case with Katie, an Australian shepherd mix found on the streets and taken to an animal shelter. She was downcast, with swollen paws and very unkempt, so much so that she looked like an old dog, when in fact she was only one year old.
In the video posted on YouTube, Kanaka slowly and carefully sits beside Katie, speaking softly so she won’t get scared. The dog shows little interest and her sad look catches attention.
With great patience, the influencer makes Katie feel more comfortable with his presence. He gains her trust and she shows it by jumping around him and asking for more affection.
Then Kanaka takes a toy, Katie’s first in her life. Without any idea what it is, the dog barely looks at the colorful unicorn in her new friend’s hand.
Katie looks confused, as if wondering why Kanaka went through so much effort to win her trust and then brought that strange little creature. He laughs at the situation and tries to get her to interact with the toy, but she really doesn’t want to.
Katie’s behavior clearly shows she hasn’t had many chances to learn what playing and interacting with humans is like. Throughout the video, Kanaka does everything to make her feel loved, understanding her vulnerability.
But the work was worth it and Katie, even though she didn’t like the toys, showed she can learn to be happy, which moved the internet.
“That dog isn’t aggressive at all. She was immediately ready to receive affection,” wrote one internet user.
“My God, whoever adopts her will have the best dog, because she’s clearly in need of affection and willing to give it back tenfold,” commented another.
This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
