Scooty the senior dog has been wheelchair-bound for the best part of 12 years after sustaining serious injuries to both her back and her hips in a near-fatal car crash. The former street dog had been hit and left for dead by an unidentified driver in Mexico in 2012.
Against all the odds, Scooty was rescued and rehabilitated by a 26-year-old Californian woman. She now lives with her in San Diego and has recently won plenty of hearts online after a social media video that captures her love of her wheelchair went viral.
The viral video, which has been viewed more than 6.1 million times since it was first shared to TikTok on January 26, featured snippets of Scooty racing around in her wheelchair or lighting up at the mere sight of it. The heartfelt clip, captioned "She loves her afternoon zoomies," played against upbeat rock 'n' roll music.
"I adopted Scooty 12 years ago after she had been hit by a car as a street dog in Mexico. Although she had broken her back and both hips, she still seemed to be so happy," Scooty's owner, Erica, told Newsweek.
"I got her a wheelchair immediately and she took to it right away. She's always loved her wheelchair and is always zooming around in it. She will be 13 years old in a couple of weeks but still still loves to run and play!"
"I was only 26 years old when I adopted her. She was my first dog. I had never even seen a dog in a wheelchair or knew where I could get one but we both figured things out together as we grew up together," she added.
Scooty had won an award for "happiest dog on the planet" a few years ago.
What Do the Comments Say?
Since it had been shared to the social media platform on January 26 by @super_scooty, the TikTok post has been liked by over 500,000 users and commented on more than 3,000 times.
"Well this just made my day," one user wrote.
Another user added: "The way she's trying to move her back legs!"
"Why am I crying," shared a third TikTok user.
"This dog is the happiest dog on planet earth, thank you for taking care of him," a different TikToker commented.
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
Melissa Fleur Afshar is a Newsweek Life and Trends Reporter based in London, United Kingdom.
Her current focus is on trending ... Read more
