After new dad Jack Jokinen experienced a rough moment of dad-brain, he failed to latch his front door all the way when returning home from walking his dog.
But in true holiday spirit, Jokinen and his family didn't experience theft, danger, or harm when a storm that night blew their front door wide open. Inside, they received a new family member.
Jokinen explained in a heartwarming Twitter feed that has since gone viral that clearly being a new dad had taken a bit of a toll. After returning home from walking his dog, Jorge Pawsada, Jokinen assumes that he just kind of closed the front door, though not engaging the door lock all the way.
Which would stand to reason why the door blew wide open when a storm blew through that night.
We all hear of new parents being tired and forgetful, but this one kind of takes the cake.
What would follow was utterly heartwarming on two counts: First, an extremely malnourished and injured puppy appeared on the street, clearly looking for shelter in the middle of the storm.
Second, after taking refuge in what looked to be a warm house, a kind stranger walking by on the street took it upon themselves to go up on the family's porch, shout out to ask if everything was alright, and close the front door for them.
Not only was this extremely kind of that person, but the surprise now locked inside the family's house was even sweeter.
The morning the viral tweet began, Jokinen's wife woke him up, telling him that everything was fine, but that there was a random puppy in their house.
Jokinen said in the viral video:
"This morning at 4 AM, my wife woke me up and said, 'Our baby's fine, our one-month-old is fine, but there's a puppy in our house. I just went to go get a pacifier downstairs, and there is a puppy in our house.' I was so confused, I get up and go downstairs, and there's a puppy in my house."
This opening introduction of confusion is hilarious to fellow parents, who understand the exhaustion and stress dreams that come with being a new parent. Imagining a puppy in your house could easily be one of those dreams.
But no, when Jokinen went downstairs and discovered the puppy, he then began investigating, trying to figure out how the dog ended up inside. After perusing all the doors and windows and locks, he couldn't figure out.
Finally, turning to his video camera footage, projecting on his front stoop, he discovered the dog had entered his home sometime in the very early morning, seeking shelter, followed shortly thereafter by the kind stranger who closed their front door. No other incidents came about, before or after in the footage, only surprises.
Jokinen explained that he called Animal Control first-thing in the morning, but he and his family really didn't want to put the puppy into the system. Instead, they decided to take the dog to the vet, to see what they could do to get this puppy on the mend.
Jokinen explained:
"We went to the vet, checked if there was no chip, but even if there was a chip, this dog is in such bad shape, whoever would have had it is a terrible person."
Then Jokinen said, while leaning to the side to reveal to the audience an occupied dog kennel:
"So... we've decided to keep the dog. She's nine years old, and we're going to give her a dignified end of her life."
You can watch the full video here:
While at the vet, it was clear that the family identified "dignified" is a thorough 180-turn in this dog's health profile.
The family also quickly named the dog "Suzyn Pupman" and "Suzy" for short.
Jokinen shared tweet after tweet as the news progressed, as the vet discovered more and more health concerns.
Jokinen updated, in what he now calls "Suzy updates":
"Suzy has a heart murmur, hook worn, infected paws, pad damage and atrophy in one of the legs from it being so damaged. She needs a bunch of dental work but is very underweight so we need to get her weight up and have some tests to make sure she can be put under for procedures."
Touched by the family's story with their new family member, several people came forward, offering to donate money for Suzy's medical bills.
Jokinen decided to set up a Venmo account, stating that if no one donated, they would still take care of all of Suzy's needs themselves; and if they received more money than the cost of the medical bills, they would find a worthy cause to donate the remaining funds to.
The Jokinen family has already received in excess of 18-thousand dollars to put toward all of Suzy's medical needs. The family hopes that the extent of her medical procedures will not cost so much money, so they can give the rest to a cause in need.
Jokinen's original video and Twitter thread have gone completely viral since he first shared the news of a mystery dog in his home. The original post has more than 34-thousand retweets, and his follow-up video has nearly 13-thousand retweets.
Twitter was quick to point out as Jokinen's thread progressed that clearly this was their family dog now, as well as the internet's dog to share.
Jokinen also shared another positive Suzy update, thanking everyone for their generous donations and challenging those who are in a position to do so to go out and adopt a senior pet of their own, to give them a forever home in time for the holidays.
He also said that Suzy is very much the internet's dog, as well as the family's dog, after everything they've done together to help Suzy heal.
Though Suzy has had a rough life up until now, she went looking for shelter and found a home, just in time for the holidays.
And though it's a pretty expensive one, it's pretty clear what, or who, the Jokinen family's favorite gift will be.
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