Fosterer Has Message for Adopter Who Returned Dog Within 48 'For Biting'

An unfortunate reality that animal shelters see daily is owners surrendering their pets and one foster mom who housed a surrendered dog took to TikTok to share her disappointment. Pet problems, which include problematic or aggressive behaviors, health problems or larger-than-expected animals, are considered the most common reasons that owners decide to re-home their pets, accounting for 47 percent of re-homed dogs and 42 percent of re-homed cats, the ASPCA reported. Shelter dog Burrito suffered the same fate as far too many animals. He was adopted but returned within 48 hours "for biting" and being aggressive. However, Burrito's foster mom didn't quite believe the story, as all Burrito had done was snuggle with her for the past several weeks. In her TikTok video posted to the account @bellaaaaalaaa, she showed Burrito in his natural habitat—sleeping directly on her. Fast asleep, his face was squished up against hers. Her message was to show the adopters that the dog was nothing short of a snuggle bug.

In a separate video, the foster mom said she was told by the shelter that Burrito bit the adopter's hand when he was trying to get him out of the car. Even after two days, Burrito wasn't getting comfortable with the man, leading them to return Burrito. Newsweek reached out to @bellaaaaalaaa via TikTok for additional information. This confused the foster mom, since she said in the comment section that she was already getting kisses from Burrito before leaving the animal shelter. And although he was hesitant with her dad, Burrito never showed any form of aggression. After living with this TikTok user for a few weeks, Burrito was transferred to a long-term behavioral foster. He is no longer listed for adoption by the South Jersey Regional Animal Shelter.

Viewer Reactions

Burrito's story quickly gained attention, and as of Tuesday, the TikTok clip had over 1.1 million views, 185,500 likes and 771 comments. "Girl I would be scared, being aggressively snuggled. I'm terrified oh nooo," said one viewer. A second person wrote: "He just keeps progressively melting more and more as the video goes on." Someone else commented: "I have a reactive/aggressive dog and this is quite literally how my dog acts with me and her other mom. They pick their people, you're his person." Adopting is a commitment and animals need to be shown love and patience. The transition to a forever home isn't always easy. They need time to decompress. Owners usually follow the 3-3-3 rule, giving newly adopted pets at least three months to adjust to their new routine. 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.