Neighbors Spend Months Trying To Save Stray Dog, Get ‘Thanksgiving Miracle’

After spending months trying to rescue a local stray dog, a woman and her neighbors finally managed to trap the pup and take him to safety—and pictures of the rescues have melted hearts among social media users. 

In a viral Threads post shared on Thursday under the username @manuereynolds, the poster shared pictures of the rescue pup in his crate, hanging out with her daughters, as he gets taken away to his new forever home. 

“Boyo update: IT’S A THANKSGIVING MIRACLE!! Boyo is officially rescued, it happened just now. Neighbors up the street managed to trap him in their garage!! He’s going to spend today with the rescue peeps, be seen by a vet, and then will get to go home!!

“He’s scared right now but clearly ready for secure love and attention, which our entire street will be giving him! What a whirlwind of a 2.5 months to get there!!” the caption explained.

While adopting a dog is always a wonderful idea, regardless of the time of the year, gifting someone a dog as a present during the holidays may not be the best thing to do, according to the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). 

Holiday time adoptions, PETA said, often cause a surge in animals being abandoned shortly after the festivities. Many of the animals given as “gifts” are too much responsibility for the new owners who didn’t choose them, and who may lack time, money, or willingness to care for them once the holiday excitement fades.  

This results in shelters across the country routinely seeing hundreds of “present animals” returned or surrendered in early January—and often puppies and kittens.  

PETA argued that giving an animal as a surprise present is irresponsible, and recommend that, if someone really wants to adopt a pet, the entire family should visit a shelter together. Or you could give a gift certificate so the recipient can choose when they’re ready. 

The adoption video quickly went viral on social media and it has so far received over 2,900 views and 401 likes on the platform. 

One user, Mariathelimey, commented: “Yay what a great Thanksgiving for Boyo and the street!! Look forward to seeing how he does in next few days.”

Resnullius67 wrote: “Sending thanks and gratitude to all of you for giving this beautiful soul a chance at a real life of love and safety.”

Ethermaven said: “What amazing news!!! So happy for all of you. Happy Boyo Day!!”

Newsweek reached out to @manuereynolds for comment via Instagram messages. We could not verify the details of the case.     

Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.