Adopting a pet is a life-changing decision, and one that brings companionship, joy and sometimes even a bit of chaos. However, most people soon realise that it can become one of the best decisions they’ve made.
While it’s difficult to pinpoint an exact number of pets in UK shelters at any given moment, estimates suggest around 250,000 animals enter rescue centres each year. Meanwhile, the RSPCA reports that it rehomed 26,292 animals in 2024. While these are impressive numbers, it still leaves several animals in the hands of shelters.
One of the thousands of people who adopted a pet in 2024 was Christie Williams, who decided to start volunteering at her local animal shelter on the one year anniversary of the death of her previous dog.
When she arrived at the shelter, she met a blue nose pitbull named Sarah, who immedietly caught her eye. Speaking to Newsweek, Christie shared that she’d been told that Sarah was deemed “unadoptable”.
Despite feeling a connection with Sarah, Christie said she was unable to adopt her due to already having four dogs at home.
But, after crying the whole way home from the shelter, she went back the next day to bring Sarah home with her. In a TikTok video posted to the account @sarahthepittie, Christie showed Sarah’s reaction to being picked up after spending the weekend to be spayed.
Sarah had made her way into Christie’s arm and the pair spent an hour just hugging each other, with Christie helping Sarah calm down after reaslising she was finally safe.
She wrote on the video: “The day I adopted Sarah from animal control, she smelt terrible, she had so much dry skin. Her fur was coarse and dry. She shook when she climbed into my lap and hugged me so hard.
“We sat in the parking lot for about an hour while I reassured her she was safe. She pushed her head deep into my neck and held on for dear life.”
She went on to urge her followers: “Adopt an adult dog, they will love you forever and change your life.”
Christie went on to say in the caption of the video: “My rescue blue nose pitbull is quite literally the sweetest dog there is.”
She went on to explain that Sarah had a “terrible start” to life, as she’d been used for breeding before being “discarded” by her previous owners.
“She [is] perfect to me. Adopt an adult dog, they are truly the best,” she wrote. The video reached over 8.7 million viewers, with thousands of people taking to the comments to praise Christie for what she’d done.
“Pitbulls are so emotional… this breaks my heart.. she’s so appreciative. thank you for loving her,” one viewer wrote. Another person said: “She’s like thank you…please love me…That dog will love you with every fibre of her being. I’m so glad you rescued her.”
“She’s telling you she never wants to go back,” a third person said.
Since being adopted, Sarah has spent her days settling in to her new life with Christie and her family, and has grown popular on TikTok, having over 20,800 followers on the platform who get to watch Sarah enjoy the loving life she deserves.