Laurel Lingenfelter, an animal rescuer and foster based in Savannah, Georgia, shared the emotional clip to her TikTok account @mythologicaldogs on July 2. In a week, the video—showing the journey of two young rescues named Tom and Jerry—drew widespread attention for its gentle portrayal of recovery and trust-building. The video, captioned “One week filled with love can change everything,” has been viewed over 31,000 times.
The short video montage opens with the puppies shaking in fear as they enter Lingenfelter’s home, before slowly learning that they are safe. An overlaid text on the clip tells the story of their first week in foster care: “They’d hide from us, shake when we held them and had no idea what safety felt like, but we were patient…Little by little they stopped shaking and started asking to be held.”
Lingenfelter told Newsweek that the pair had endured extreme neglect before being taken in by SGT Canines, her own rescue.
“The puppies in the video are my old foster puppies Tom and Jerry. They were completely hairless, and only 4 lbs each,” she said. “The rest of their litter was rescued by other organizations, and their mom as well.
“They had never known any type of love or connection from humans and had been living in a garage after being rescued from outside.”
Their hair loss, she explained, was caused by demodectic mange, a skin condition brought on by mites that thrive when a puppy’s immune system is weakened. In addition to dealing with mange, both puppies were undernourished and infested with intestinal worms.
“We brought them home and patiently taught them about love,” Lingenfelter said. “We’d spend a lot of time giving them treats, and just sitting with them.
“In one week they doubled their weight. We gave them medicated baths, and took care of the worms that filled their bellies.”
The careful effort paid off quickly. With consistent treatment and gentle socialization, Tom and Jerry not only regained their coats, but also began engaging with their temporary caregivers and playing with each other.
“They quickly grew hair and started to love us back. They’d look for us and took an interest in cuddling and playing,” Lingenfelter said.
Now adopted, both dogs have settled into new lives far from the conditions they came from.
“Jerry has a dad that is a boat captain in south Florida. He enjoys going on the boat with his dad and they spend their days adventuring together,” Lingenfelter said. “Tom has a dad that lives in Miami, Florida, and enjoys going to the beach. Tom also lives a life full of adventure and love.”
The viral TikTok post is one of many Lingenfelter has shared documenting her work with SGT Canines and other rescues.
While she has posted about heartbreaking cases in the past, viewers were especially moved by the visible change in Tom and Jerry after just a week of compassion and care.
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.
