When a foster mom from @rachelishaa on Instagram walked into a shelter and asked staff which dog had no interest from visitors, she wasn’t expecting what came next—and she documented it all in this video. The staff pointed her to Murphy, a dog surrendered after a house fire, who had not stopped shaking since his arrival. She tried taking him out to cheer him up. But even after being surrounded by toys and treats, the dog sat there and would not take a thing.
Video shows ‘fearful’ shelter dog opening up more and more to foster mom
The shelter dog looked scared in the video, but the foster mom couldn’t walk away from him and decided to take him home to foster. For the first few days, Murphy hid and would not come out. He wanted nothing to do with toys or treats, but the video showed that his foster mom did not push him, giving him space at every step.
And bit by bit, Murphy started opening up. Rachel documented the whole thing on social media: his first time playing with a toy, his first smile, his first time seeing snow, a trip to the flower show—and each little milestone showed more of the playful dog he actually was underneath all that fear. Then came adoption day, when Murphy finally found his forever home.
In the video’s caption, the foster mom wrote, “Murphy was my dog of the day until he became so much more,” adding, “If you are ever thinking about fostering now is the time.”
The video racked up thousands of comments, with people admitting how the story moved them. One viewer wrote, “If I didn’t watch his entire journey with you I’d have a hard time believing he was the same dog,” while another added, “A lot of the time if you give them patience and time they’ll blossom into this. My dog spent 5 years at a rescue… he’s absolutely perfect.” And this video proves that Murphy was perfect, too.
