Quite frankly, keeping dogs in shelter homes is nearly as sad as having to defend your son’s life at gunpoint. Particularly if it’s a high-kill shelter like the one dog benny was living at in Gardena, California.

Because of the huge amount of strays they get in, perfectly healthy dogs at the Carson Animal Care Centre are put down every day to make room for new ones, which is the saddest thing ever. But that’s what makes this video so special and provides just a little bit of hope to the whole situation.

Benny had been living in his little dingy room for months and was due to be put down any day. That was until an adoptive family chose him as their pet.

The video below shows Benny’s reaction as he realises that he is free and has a family who loves him. At first he seems really shy and nervous, which is understandable judging by the horrible life he’s most likely had. But once they’ve got the lead round him and let out with his new family he flips out and becomes a completely new dog.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdcL0QFLDek

If that didn’t put a tear in your eye then you literally don’t have a heart. I still feel a little bit bad about all of the other dogs that have to stay in that prison. But hey ho, good news for Benny and in general dogs have better lives than us anyway.