TikTok User's Touching Tale of Adopting Neighbor's Surrendered Dog Gets Over 8 Million Views

Derek Schmit adopted the dog, who is pals with his pooch Dexter, after learning the canine's previous owner chose not to retrieve the pet from the shelter after animal control picked up the dog

When Derek Schmit learned that his neighbors left their pet dog at a shelter because they didn't want to care for the pet anymore, he sprang into action.

Schmit shared how he responded on TikTok with a video that shows him finding the canine at a crowded shelter full of caged barking dogs.

"When I finally found that my neighbors abandoned their dog too," Schmit wrote across the clip, which he posted to his @sunnyvaletrailerpark TikTok account on Dec. 4.

In the video, the dog, named Doakes, is shown staring up at the camera from his cage with puppy dog eyes.

"3 shelters and 4 phone calls later. I found the neighborhood dog and adopted him. We gave him the life he deserves," Schmit captioned the clip, which has gone on to get over 8.9 million views.

Schmit has posted more videos to his TikTok account to provide context to the situation. On Dec. 5, he shared a video of Doakes playing with his dog Dexter. Schmit narrates the clip with more information about Doakes' backstory.

"This is the first time Dexter and Doakes met each other," Schmit narrates over a shot of the dogs standing next to each other, wagging their tails.

"Doakes was a stray in our old neighborhood. He used to wait for us every single day after work to play with Dexter. One day, he didn't show up because he got picked up by animal control. Turns out he had a family, and they had the option to pay a fee to get him back, and they chose not to," Schmit continues in the narration.

Schmit adds that after discovering details about Doakes' situation, he chose to adopt the dog and says it was "the best decision" he ever made.

"Dexter and Doakes get to play forever now," he adds in the clip, which shows the two canines happily goofing around together.