After taking his dog for a walk, Jerome Carlton Hughes Jr. might have hoped for a quiet and relaxing evening. But to his surprise, there was an unexpected guest waiting for him outside.
Hughes Jr., 33, was just about to step inside his apartment building when his husky and Labrador mix, named Wolfie, became fascinated by what was behind the trash. It turned out that Wolfie hadn’t found some food or scraps back there, but rather, a new friend.
Sitting behind the garbage cans was a scared stray dog who appeared cold and underweight. Hughes Jr., of Chicago, Illinois, told Newsweek that he was “so shocked” by the sight of the dog, and he knew exactly what to do.
“I took my dog inside and put him up and instantly got her food and water. I literally told her to stay right where she was, and when I got back, she was still there waiting,” he said.
“It took about 20 to 30 minutes to get her to trust me and to eat. Once I felt like she was ready for me to take her up, I slowly picked her up and walked her up four flights of stairs (as my building doesn’t have an elevator).”
It was around 11 p.m. when he found her, but it’s unclear how long the dog was waiting outside. Hughes Jr. thinks she’d been out there for “a while” based on the condition of her nails and fur.
After getting her inside, he nicknamed the dog Freckles and set to work on cleaning her up. She had a warm bath which she didn’t seem to mind too much, and she made herself comfortable.
“I got her some more food and water and set her up a place in my empty room with the heater on and the blanket. She didn’t really make a peep, she just wanted love. I stayed in the room for a while with her and then she just fell asleep,” Hughes Jr. said.
Despite what she’d gone through, Freckles was incredibly calm and happy to let Hughes Jr. care for her.
The only problem was that he couldn’t keep her permanently.
Wolfie doesn’t cope well with other dogs (so he had to stay in his kennel while Freckles was there), and it wasn’t feasible for Hughes Jr. to keep two pets in his apartment. He asked a friend to pick Freckles up the following morning and, but she was ultimately taken to Chicago Animal Care & Control in search of a forever home.
Newsweek has contacted Chicago Animal Care & Control for comment via email.
In the meantime, Hughes Jr. shared a TikTok video of the moment he found Freckles outside and it went viral. Internet users couldn’t get enough of her adorable eyes and sweet temperament, causing the video to generate over 1.2 million views and 315,800 likes on TikTok at the time of writing.
Countless TikTok users contacted Hughes Jr. offering to adopt Freckles and keep her safe.
“The reaction to the video has been crazy, it’s so mind-blowing how viral it has gone. So many people hit me up saying thank you and everything. She went to Chicago Animal Care & Control for three days until someone claimed her, and she just got adopted on December 15,” Hughes Jr. said.
Indeed, he told Newsweek that he wasn’t overly concerned about Freckles going to a shelter because he was hopeful that the internet reaction would lead to an adoption.
He did consider adopting Freckles himself, but it’s such a relief to know that she’s starting her next chapter in a safe home.
Hughes Jr. continued posting videos on TikTok to offer updates on Freckles as social media users were so invested in her story. This has even led to more than 8,500 comments on the viral TikTok video so far.
One comment on the post reads: “Omg her soft eyes. She looks like a gentle soul, thank you for helping her.”
Another TikTok user wrote: “Awww she was watching you hoping you would save her.”
Another person replied: “Pit bulls have such a thin coat of hair. Poor baby was freezing, thanks for saving her.”
While one commenter added: “Thank you for taking her in, she looked so scared and sad.”
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