Stranger Offers Dog As Support for Anxious Flyer in Wholesome Viral Video

TikTok's "Never Forget You," trend is normally used for past relationships and to highlight memorable encounters with strangers, but one user hopped on the trend with a wholesome story of a dog who showed up just when it was needed.

The clip from @fairweatherhebrew, real name Samantha, captures a stranger bringing a dog to her before the airplane they are both on takes off, accompanied by The Noisettes' resurfaced track "Never Forget You." Samantha explains in the TikTok post that she was struggling with the idea of flying, and the dog helped her calm down.

"To the puppy that was randomly handed to me while I was having an internal anxiety attack about flying," reads the on-screen text. The next shot sees the puppy perched on the empty seat next to Samantha in a wholesome TikTok moment.

In the 19 hours since it was posted on Wednesday, the TikTok video has gained over 4.9 million views and over 700,00 likes.

According to comments left by Samantha, the puppy wasn't a support dog, but was still able to do the trick. "This was his new owner. As for the support training, yes definitely too young but that guy flew four hours to pick the dog up and bring him home the same day," she wrote.

Although the puppy in this TikTok clip may not be a support dog, animals are shown to have great effect on disorders including anxiety. UCLA's animal-assisted therapy research suggests that "the simple act of petting animals releases an automatic relaxation response."

A 2019 research study by Emily Therwell, published in the Animals journal, found that both in-person contact with a dog and watching videos of dogs reduced anxiety in college students. So, TikTok's dog of the moment may have multiplied its impact by going viral.

"This happened to me a couple of years ago, it was a trip I was anxious about and a woman with a puppy sat next to me. I felt so watched over," commented one user who related to the viral video.

"This is better than first class anyway," wrote one viewer.

Other viewers noted how scared the puppy looked of flying too—something Samantha pointed out in the video as well, with the "he's scared too," text added on top.

"Why be scared alone, when you can be scared together," commented one TikTok user.

TikTok has a habit of proving just why dogs are a man's best friend, with new viral videos popping up frequently, including this dog who played a "drinking game" with its owner.

Newsweek contacted Samantha for a comment.