A woman has shared heartwarming footage of the moment her newly adopted rescue dog experienced snow for the first time.
Victoria Donnelly, who lives in Scotland, shared a video to TikTok of her family's rescue pup enjoying a day out in the snow after being rescued from a life on the streets of Crete. According to one of Donnelly's other social media posts, her parents live in Crete, where they came across the lovable stray.
They already had two rescue dogs but helped organize things so that the young pup was adopted by Donnelly. Fast-forward a couple of months and the excitable dog has swapped stony beaches for frolics in the winter snow. Donnelly can be heard laughing joyously in the background of the clip, having captured what will likely be a cherished moment for years to come.
In the clip, the happy canine can be seen excitedly jumping and spinning around in the snow, occasionally dipping her snout to further sample the icy cold delights. She's clearly loving every second of the experience.
There are many theories as to why dogs, much like humans, enjoy playing in the snow. Gordon Burghardt, author of the book The Genesis of Animal Play: Testing the Limits, attributes this to several factors.
"Many animals from temperate areas seem to really enjoy frolicking in the snow. I think it relates to the sensory qualities of snow and the bracing effects of cold weather," he told Scientific American. "I think when watching dogs, for example, in snow we are not too far off in comparing their activity to that which we experienced as young children ourselves."
Whatever the science behind it, one thing everyone watching the TikTok clip can agree on is that the footage is undeniably cute and captured something truly magical.
"He looks like a small child, full of innocence experiencing something new," one viewer wrote. "I could watch this all day," another added, with a third commenting: "This is so wholesome, the simple pleasures in life."
A fourth admitted that the video made their heart "burst."
Elsewhere, the clip prompted one TikTok user to declare: "Dogs and snow are the best." Another said: "My senior dog every year at first snowfall." A third agreed, writing, "This makes me happy."
This isn't the first time a clip of a dog enjoying the big freeze has ended up moving viewers. Footage of a rescue greyhound having a similarly emotional reaction to seeing the white stuff for the first time was called "adorable."
Similarly, a clip of a puppy dog witnessing his first snowfall brought a tear to the eye of many viewers. There were tears of a different kind over a clip showing a dog that has developed a penchant for carrying snowballs in its mouth.
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.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Jack Beresford is a Newsweek Senior Internet Culture & Trends Reporter, based in London, UK. His focus is reporting on ... Read more
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