Watch adorable moment man gives 80 street dogs toys for first time

Dogs deserve all the best things in life, especially those who haven’t had the best start.

Niall Harbison runs the Happy Doggo dog sanctuary on the tropical island of Koh Samui in Thailand and recently posted a video showing him buying stuffed toys for 80 street dogs.

In the video, Harbison can be seen “giving 80 Thai street dogs the best day of their lives,” giving them all brand new toys for “the first time in their lives.”

“We’re just seeing street dogs experience something that they’ve never experienced before,” Harbison told Newsweek. “As street dogs usually are, they’re wary and a bit uncertain at first, because they haven’t always been treated kindly. But as soon as they realize that nothing scary is happening, you can see them relax and start to get excited about their new toys.”

The video explains that some of the dogs didn’t know how to play and shows one particular dog tentatively taking a toy and walking off through the trees with it. A tiny puppy can also be seen relaxing in a giant pile of toys, which includes tennis balls and stuffed toys. ” We also brought them medicines and treats,” read the caption.

“I just loved the different reactions from all the dogs,” said Harbison. “Some were instantly protective of their new toys, and you could tell that they were just proud to have something of their own to take back to their little bed. Some dogs wanted to play with everything. And some really surprised me with how instinctively they understood how to play fetch, or tug of war. Even if they’d never chased a ball before, they instantly enjoyed the experience,” he added.

When asked why the he decided to give the street dogs toys, Harbison replied: “For the same reason that any dog-lover wants to give dogs toys: because they love to play! They may never have had toys before, but they naturally like to chase and chew just like any other dog. Spending just an hour giving them that experience helps build the relationship that I have with them.”

Harbison explained that it was also part of an exercise to get the dogs to trust him in order for him to better look after them. “I think a lot of people underestimate how much work it takes to gain a street dog’s trust,” he said. “I need these dogs to trust me, so that I can keep a close eye on their health, get them medicine when they need it, and of course catch them if they need to be sterilized. So I’m always working on ways to gain their trust and affection.”

In case anyone was wondering what happened to the toys once the dogs had finished with them, Harbison revealed: “Every time we give the dogs anything—whether it’s blankets or toys or anything else—we’re always monitoring their condition and we remove anything that’s not being used by the dogs anymore. When we can, we’ll wash the toys and give them to the dogs at our sanctuary or donate them to one of the other dog rescues on the island.”

The clip has been viewed over 1.6 million at time of writing and TikTok users loved the video.

“You are such an angel for this—is there anyway that I can send you some donations?” asked one user, to which Harbison replied: “Hey thank you so much, that’s very kind. You can donate via our website happydoggo.com.”

“You’re doing an amazing job, you should be very proud,” commented another user. “Okay this makes me cry. Just knowing how satisfied my dog is with her toy. These guys must be in heaven,” said another.

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