Tears as Rescue Great Dane Finally Leaves Room With Help of New Dog Friend

A video capturing the transformation of Birdie, a rescued Great Dane who was “terrified” to leave the bathroom before meeting her new friend, Basil, has gone viral on TikTok.

The video, posted by user @birdie.and.basil on August 8, has amassed more than 353,000 views. It begins with overlaid text saying, “Our rescue was so terrified she lived in our bathroom for four months.” The footage shows Birdie sitting in a corner next to a blanket on a tiled bathroom floor, highlighting her initial fear and discomfort in her new surroundings.

In the video’s comments section, the poster discussed Birdie’s past, writing, “She’s had way too many litters of puppies and I know she had never been in a home before or known love. It’s heartbreaking.”

Birdie’s journey reached a turning point when she met a new friend, Basil. The video shows Birdie leaving the bathroom after Basil’s arrival and the two dogs interacting with each other inside and outside their home—going on their first walk together, sharing a snooze and playing in a yard.

Birdie and Basil’s story serves as a reminder of the incredible effect love and companionship can have on rescue animals, highlighting the importance of patience and care in helping them overcome their past traumas.

Newsweek has contacted @birdie.and.basil for comment via TikTok. This video has not been independently verified.

Social isolation is among the greatest stressors for dogs in animal shelters, a March 2019 study in PeerJ found.

Previous research has shown that “human interaction reduces cortisol [a hormone regulating stress] in shelter dogs, with the possibility that longer periods of interaction may yield greater effects,” the study said.

The study found that dogs’ ratios of cortisol to creatinine, a waste product, “dropped significantly during their fostering stay, but returned to baseline levels after return to the shelter.”

The bond between the two dogs in the viral clip is unsurprising because “dogs can form relationships of comparable qualities with both humans and other dogs,” and these relationships “vary along multiple components across different partners,” a 2019 study published in Scientific Reports found.

‘An Emotional Support Dog’

The poster said in a comment on TikTok that according to a DNA test, Basil is a mix of Labrador (53 percent), Australian shepherd (18 percent) and Catahoula (10 percent), with the remaining 19 percent being an assortment of hound breeds.

In the video’s caption, the poster wrote, “Birdie still has a long way to go. It can feel like two steps forward one step back. Luckily her sister Basil is there to support her.”

TikTok users were delighted by the canine duo’s friendship, flooding the comments section with words of support and admiration.

One user wrote, “She’s teaching her how to dog!” The poster replied, “Birdie even started doing this big dramatic stretch that Basil does when she wakes up, it’s so sweet to see.”

A commenter said, “You got your pup an emotional support dog,” while another added, “My favorite people get dogs for their dog.”

“I love it when people love their animals this much,” a user wrote, capturing the sentiment of many viewers.

“Sometimes we all need a friend to help us move on,” one user wrote. “Thank you for loving your dog!”

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.