The moment a rescued senior dog felt her bed for the first time after being rescued from cruelty by TikTok user Maria Torres has gone viral. The video, in which Torres chronicles her rescue from her previous owner in real time, has received over 400,000 views in less than a day.
Bella, the puppy, is seen cautiously crawling onto her nice blanket before timidly snuggling into it, simultaneously breaking and warming the hearts of tens of thousands of people. In the video, she flinched every time her new owner petted her. Bella’s reaction has changed dramatically in just a few days since the video, and she now feels at ease at home, according to Torres.
“She will never be hurt again,” reads the caption of the post. In a video posted a few months ago, Torres showed the process of rescuing Belle, who was previously held by a woman who was caught beating her. Torres is used to caring for cats, but after seeing footage of Belle being hit in the street, she felt compelled to take her in as well. “A neighbor handed me a video of a local homeless woman beating a small puppy,” she wrote before uploading a video of the incident on the side of the road.
“A family who had relocated and no longer wanted her gave her to this woman. She’s in bad shape and has probably never seen a veterinarian,” she added. Torres reportedly waited outside for hours for the woman to arrive before approaching her and offering to buy the puppy, according to the video. “I have to keep my animals and family safe because this is not a good neighborhood,” she continued.
She can be heard telling the woman that the abuse could lead to her being arrested, so she offered to take the dog off her hands in exchange for money. “I told her about the alleged mistreatment and offered to buy the dog,” she explained.
When Belle was rescued, she had no teeth and needed veterinary care, which has put a strain on Torres’ finances, as have the numerous other local animals she has rescued. Torres has asked her TikTok followers to donate to her vet bills as she cares for her two dogs and six cats.
Credit: The Dodo