An Uber driver has gone viral after rescuing the dog from her first-ever Uber Pet ride. In the clip, which has amassed 7.4 million views, Hope Singh (@hope_singh) spoke to the camera while sitting inside her car, saying, “So I had my first ever Uber Pet ride, and the woman was actually taking her dog get euthanized. This dog looked every bit of six, seven months old, so I asked her what was going on and asked her if I could give my husband a call and see if we could keep it.”
She then panned the camera to show a dog in the back seat, adding, “Now we have a new member of the family. This is Tiger.” Naturally, viewers were largely horrified by the situation, but in two follow-up videos, Singh explained that things weren’t as clear-cut as they might have appeared in the initial video. “She was in a domestic violence relationship,” she said. “And her ex-boyfriend slash abuser had given her the dog as an apology. Now, she was not in the place financially or physically to take care of the dog.”
According to Singh, the woman was living out of a hotel and working 12-hour shifts. She claims that when the hotel found out about the dog, they threatened to kick the woman out and charged her extra money she couldn’t afford. “It was very clear that this young girl was in a bad situation,” she added. Still, Singh said the woman was happy for her to take the dog and was glad it didn’t end up getting euthanized.
@hope_singh Welcome Tigar 🐶🥰
♬ original sound – Hope_Singh
Commenters were divided over the situation. While many of them were empathetic, with one saying, “thank you for not judging her,” others were less forgiving. “I’m sorry that’s not excuse for euthanizing a healthy dog,” one wrote. “People shouldn’t be allowed to do that without a legit reason,” another added. However, after a number of viewers insulted the woman in the comments section, Singh spoke up for her in the follow-up video.
“I want to start off by saying it is not my place to judge anybody. Nor is it anyone else’s,” she said. “I’ve seen a lot of very nasty comments, and I think that we should all just have a little bit more grace for each other.”
Is it legal to euthanize a healthy animal?
There are no federal laws that specifically prohibit euthanizing healthy animals. However, 49 out of 51 U.S. states have some kind of laws regulating the euthanasia of animals. Only licensed veterinarians, for instance, are permitted to euthanize animals.
The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) has recommended guidelines for pet owners on the most ethical way to navigate euthanasia. When it comes to healthy animals, a post on the AVMA website states that “pet owners should pursue all available opportunities to rehome animals before opting for euthanasia.”
The Daily Dot reached out to Singh via TikTok comment and direct message and to Uber via email for comment.
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