A senior Labrador Retriever has gone viral for being rescued after six years alone.
32-year-old Henry Friedman picked up Morgan, 12, in Mexico, and a TikTok showing the touching moment has amassed over 32,000 likes in the last two weeks.
Morgan is currently residing in San Diego, where he waits for adoption and the forever home he deserves.
Saving a Senior Labrador
Friedman spoke to Newsweek, explaining that he found Morgan through social media. “His story is what people mean when they say ‘we don’t deserve dogs’”, he said. “Morgan was completely failed and abandoned by humans and yet here he is six years later, just wanting to hang out with you and play a game of fetch.
“When we showed up, he was wagging his tail with a water bottle in his mouth that he would toss through the fence, encouraging us to throw it for him.
“After being alone for six years, his spirit and trust in humans somehow were never broken. He is after all still a black Labrador.”
While Morgan lived alone, his neighbors helped out by feeding him and playing fetch when they could. However, his front teeth were shaved down to his gums. This was because he’d spent so long eating food off the concrete driveway.
Finding a Forever Home
The canine’s exact age isn’t known. It’s thought he’s 12 years old based on his appearance and information from the neighbors, however. Friedman partners with Los Adoptables, a rescue based in the city of Ensenada in Baja California, and together they found out about Morgan through social media.
To carry out the rescue legally, they had to get in touch with local law enforcement. “We needed police presence because without them there, it would have been an unlawful rescue, amounting to trespassing,” explained Friedman. “This is probably one of the reasons he wasn’t rescued sooner.”
While he hasn’t had the easiest life, Friedman explained that Morgan doesn’t have any “traumas” as a result. “He still found love, attention, and food from the neighbors, so he basically still loves people,” he said.
“He would do best with a family that is committed to making up for so much lost time and has the patience and experience of caring for a senior dog. He’s an old black Lab that would be great with kids and other dogs.”
