Many people feel that their pets found them rather than the other way around. That was quite literally the case for Jack Jokinen, who suddenly became a pet parent after an adorable dog wandered into his house recently.
The Philadelphia man was shocked when he woke up and his wife, Emily, informed him that a stray puppy had somehow ended up in the family’s home. They had no idea how she’d gotten there, but the sweet pup appeared malnourished as well as injured, and they were determined to make sure she was taken care of.
Jokinen took to Twitter on Dec. 14 to share the heartwarming story of how this beautiful canine came to find her way into their house and their hearts. His thread soon went viral, racking up thousands of retweets and likes from dog lovers everywhere who were enamored with this touching tale:
I just woke up to this puppy in my house and we have no idea how it got here. pic.twitter.com/OZMystNsZE
— Jack Jokinen (@JJFromTheBronx) December 14, 2019
“I just woke up to this puppy in my house and we have no idea how it got here,” he wrote in the first tweet along with a photo of their new furry friend.
Next, he posted the footage from their security camera, showing that a storm the night before blew their front door open, thus allowing the pup to trot right in. The video he shared shows the scared pup walking through the rain and pausing as she passes the open door before walking away. The dog then turns back around and decides to go up the stairs and inside.
Apparently my front door was WIDE open and he just walked in pic.twitter.com/okOkmcVZdr
— JJ (@JJFromTheBronx) December 14, 2019
In another lucky turn of events, later, a passerby even helpfully closed the door for them:
Some guy walked by and just closed our door without murdering us or stealing anything. Shout to him
— JJ (@JJFromTheBronx) December 14, 2019
Next, Jokinen noted that the once-scared doggo was getting comfortable in her new home:
He’s getting comfortable pic.twitter.com/vHv6dgRgTD
— JJ (@JJFromTheBronx) December 14, 2019
After realizing how bad of shape the dog was in, the Jokinens took the pup to the vet, where they discovered that she had damaged teeth, no vaccinations, a missing pad on her paw and no microchip.
The Jokinens are already the tired and busy parents of a 1-month-old daughter, Johanna. They also already have a dog, Jorge, so they weren’t sure about adding another needy creature to their family. In the end, however, they couldn’t resist this sweet pup who innocently walked right into their lives.
They named her Suzy, and she’s fitting into the family just beautifully, as evidenced by her very own Instagram page, @suzynpupman.
Here she is cuddling with her new brother:
Aww! The Jokinens are accepting donations through Venmo for Suzy’s medical care, which had raised more than $15,000 in mid-December, according to NBC’s “Today.” However, in an update on Suzy’s Instagram on Dec. 29, Jack said the donations for Suzy’s vet bills had now surpassed $38,000, and that they’d be donating the excess funds to local animal shelters. He also mentioned that she was continuing to gain weight and had just been to the vet for a hookworm treatment.
While they never could have anticipated how much attention this stray pup would garner, they’re just glad that Suzy is making people smile.
“It’s the holiday season,” Jokinen told The Philadelphia Inquirer. “Isn’t everyone looking to find a little joy every day?”
This story originally appeared on Simplemost. Checkout Simplemost for additional stories.
