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By Lucy Notarantonio
Senior Reporter
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When a black dog first arrived at a shelter, staff initially assumed she had been hit by a car because she was covered in scars. But they soon discovered the heartbreaking reality.
Cassie Christman, 33, a volunteer at the shelter who shared a clip of the stray—now named Nina—on TikTok (@cassondrachristman). It shows Nina who is described as the “saddest dog," lying on her bed, staring at the wall. In the next scene, she accepts a Christmas gift, giving viewers a closer look at the scarring on her head.
An extract from the caption reads: “She didn’t have any fresh wounds they were all old and most were healed,” meaning being run over was no longer considered a possibility.
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Christman told Newsweek: “The saddest thing about all her scars is that no matter what caused them, it would have been painful — and she’s only two years old.
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"All those scars are a lot of pain for such a young pup to have already endured.”
While the exact cause of Nina’s scars remains unknown, the extent and age of her wounds suggest she may have endured some form of abuse long before arriving at the shelter. Sadly, her story reflects a much larger problem.
According to Shelter Animal Counts—a national database for animal rescues—at least one animal is abused every 60 seconds around the globe, and close to 10 million animals die from abuse or cruelty each year in the United States.
Despite the video earning 114,000 views, Nina hasn’t received a “single application.” She has been at the Maui Humane Society in Hawaii since Christmas and has already made remarkable progress.
“She’s doing great now,” Christman told Newsweek. “She has been to a doggy play group and had a super fun time. She is in love with her toys and loves to toss them up in the air. Every day, I hear her playing in her kennel on her own.”
Christman added that Nina is now “having a blast” at the shelter, but they hope she won’t remain there much longer.
Nina would do best in a home with plenty of love and patience. Since she hasn’t been in foster care or a home environment before, it’s unclear how familiar she is with household settings, so giving her time to adjust will be important.
She’s still young and likely full of energy, meaning a home with enough space for her to play, toss her toys around, and enjoy herself would be ideal.
So far, the January 9 video of Nina has struck a chord with viewers, racking up 16,000 likes and over 2,000 comments.
“This hurts my feelings so bad,” said one user. Another wrote: “she needs to be loved, and treasured.”
“I really hope this dog gets a forever home. [she is] so deserving. Well all dogs are,” a third user added and Christman agreed.
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