Puppy saved from animal shelter while being euthanised

A puppy named Nikki was dramatically rescued from an animal shelter just as they had begun steps to put her down due to overcrowding.

Tracy Bulin, who runs an animal sanctuary, took to TikTok to showcase a heartwarming video which told the story of Nikki’s escape, reports The Daily Express US.

In the footage, a dog can be seen peacefully sleeping in the backseat of Tracy’s car, while she explains how she saved the pup from certain death.

According to Tracy, the shelter, in Mississippi, US, had already initiated the euthanasia process on Nikki, as they were unable to keep her due to overwhelming capacity.

She said: “[Nikki’s] sleeping because they already started the euthanasia process on her.

“Before they finished the job, they called me first and said: ‘Hey, we have this dog, some guy brought her in. We told him we couldn’t take her because we have nowhere to put her, we are way over capacity.'”

Tracy, who owns the Erin Regan Animal Sanctuary, in Picayune, said Nikki’s previous owner had been informed that leaving her at the shelter would lead to her death.

“Local shelters are euthanising every day because people just have the attitude ‘well here’s a dog, just put it down, I don’t care.’ Well, I care, and I know a lot of people care.”

”How do you say no and that if you don’t take her, then that’s the end of her life? She’s not even a year old yet.”

In an interview with Newsweek, Tracy said the euthanasia process starts with sedatives being administered to dogs prior to the lethal injection.

In Nikki’s case, she had already been given a sedative when a shelter worker called Tracy as a last resort.

“At that point, the woman I spoke to didn’t know anything about the dog, not even gender or weight. She was just trying to get her out of there,” Tracy said.

“When I stated that I would come to get her, they held her for me and did not finish with the final injection.

“I had to carry her out of the shelter to my car because she kept falling over and couldn’t walk from the acetylpromazine.”

In a recent update video, Tracy shared footage of Nikki clearly thrilled to have been given another shot at life.

The playful pup can be seen joyfully licking her, with Tracy describing her as “super friendly, very affectionate, and very grateful to be alive today.”

She said: “We have a lot of interest in adopting sweet Nikki. We named her ‘Nikki’ because she was saved in the nick of time.”

Tracy mentioned that Nikki would be taken to the vet in a few days for a checkup, spaying, and vaccinations.

She advised those interested in adopting Nikki to fill out an application on their website, while mentioning that they would wait a few days before testing Nikki’s compatibility with other animals to allow her to “settle in and decompress”.

Despite having been given a sedative, Tracy reassured viewers that Nikki was “perfectly fine” and would experience no lasting effects.

Tracy expressed her eagerness to find Nikki a loving home, stating, “She is going to be a great dog for somebody, so I’m really anxious to get her a good home.”

Tracy expressed her astonishment at the overwhelming support Nikki has received since she posted the TikTok videos.

The original video has been viewed over 700,000 times, with numerous comments pouring in.

One commenter said: “It hurts that there are heartless people. Thank you for having a big heart.”

Another said: “This made me cry, dogs are our greatest blessing.”

The Erin Regan Animal Sanctuary was founded by Tracy and her husband in 2019. She said: “This past year has been really hard for rescue…the animals are paying the price. Southern shelters are euthanising every single day.

“I realise we can’t save them all, but just think of the difference that we’ll make in their lives for those that we do save.”

If you’re interested in Tracy’s cause, you can find out more information here.