By Alyce Collins
Social media users can’t cope with the adorable moment a stressed out shelter dog got to enjoy some time in the paddling pool and even tried to do water zoomies.Cairo, the 9-year-old old American Staffordshire terrier mix has been at Aurora Animal Care and Control since May 22 where he’s waiting to be adopted. There’s no doubt that shelters can be quite overwhelming, and Cairo has certainly been feeling very stressed since he arrived.Carissa Hartwig, a volunteer at Aurora Animal Care and Control in Illinois, decided to give Cairo a bit of a break from the chaos and let him enjoy some time in the paddling pool instead. Needless to say, he didn’t hesitate for a moment to dive straight in and enjoy the cool water.His reaction was delightful for Hartwig to see, and she told Newsweek that she’s “never seen a dog love the pool so much.” He instantly lay down in the water, started spinning around, and of course, splashing it all over.”During the summer months, the pool stays out for all the dogs at the Aurora Animal Care and Control to enjoy. Most dogs just drink out of the pool, but obviously Cairo took advantage of the opportunity and decided to splish splash around,” Hartwig said.”He’s a total fish, so he was so excited to jump in to cool off and have pool zoomies. It looks like he was trying to create a whirlpool.”Indeed, Hartwig has taken a lot of the dogs out during her time volunteering, but most of them just ignore the paddling pool is even there. Not Cairo though, who couldn’t get enough of the water.”It was really exciting to see a dog love it so much. It was adorable how he was a bit reluctant at first, then he was blowing bubbles with his nose, then went full force into swim mode,” Hartwig continued.Hartwig shared the adorable clip of Cairo in the pool on her TikTok account (@chaosinmycrocs2) and the clip went viral with over 1.1 million views and 234,500 likes at the time of writing.While he may be in his more senior years, Cairo certainly isn’t slowing down. He is still full of energy and loves greeting people with so much joy and affection. Although, capturing photos of him can be quite difficult, as Hartwig jokes that he never stops moving.”He looks like a little hippo and has the cutest short legs. He gives big dog energy, but he is a short king,” she said.The shelter doesn’t have any information about Cairo’s history, so it’s hard to say whether he would be suited to a household with children or other pets. But if given patience and time to adjust, they think he could still be a great fit for anyone.”Cairo is currently quite stressed at the shelter, so he could potentially have dog friends in the future, but right now he would benefit from some time decompressing. We think he could do well with children, but he is a bit of bowling ball. And we aren’t sure how he would do with cats, either, but it’s always suggested to do a slow intro,” Hartwig told Newsweek.Since sharing his paddling pool antics online, she’s been amazed by the overwhelmingly positive response. The comments and likes are wonderful, but the overriding aim is to find Cairo (and the many other shelter dogs) a home, and that’s still yet to happen.In a matter of days, the viral clip has amassed over 1,800 comments on TikTok. Internet users have lauded Cairo’s reaction to the water, with many hoping he gets adopted by someone with an even bigger pool to enjoy.One comment reads: “He’s practicing his tryout for the synchronized swimming team.”Another person wrote: “Awww. I hope he gets adopted by a family with a pool and kids! Putting it out to the universe!”Another TikTok user wrote: “I could watch him swim all day. He is so happy.”While one commenter added: “This baby was is secretly an otter!”Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? We want to see the best ones! Send them in to life@newsweek.com and they could appear on our site.