In the past few days, a new space on the Internet has become ground zero for sharing stories about special-needs and rescue dogs. Hundreds of users are sharing photos and stories in the comments section of the site, highlighting the struggles of their own dogs and cats. It’s seemingly an endless list, with photos of countless dogs in wheelchairs and other devices above heartwarming stories of how these dogs changed lives.
Actually, the list is not endless. It tops out at 24,000 comments, all created in the past week. Welcome to the Kleenex Facebook page.
The tissue maker struck Internet gold thanks to a simple video, “Unlikely Best Friends,” created as part of the company’s “Someone Needs One” campaign and currently sweeping past 23 million views, according to Adweek. It tells the story of a dog, Chance, who lost the use of his back legs after being hit by a car and left on the side of the road for dead. San Antonio Pets Alive stepped in and saved Chance right before he was going to be euthanized.
“They gave him a chance,” says his new dad, Michael, who is also in a wheelchair.
“I deal with the same struggles he deals with,” Michael says in the video. “Now he’s like my best friend. We do everything together. … I knew his struggles as well as mine, and I knew that we could overcome those obstacles together.”
“Michael always looks on the brighter side of everything,” says his wife in the video. “Chance is absolutely the same way. He follows him in whatever he does. … A dog that doesn’t let anything get him down — it makes you appreciate life.”
“The difference Chance makes in my life is the happiness and the courage to know that there isn’t anything that anybody can’t do,” says Michael.
Watch the video, then head over to the Kleenex Facebook page and share your own story about your rescue or special-needs dog. You’ll have a lot of company.
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