A touching, viral video shows a compassionate exchange between a passerby and a dog destined for slaughter at a Chinese meat store.

Filmed last year, it just recently got popular on the internet. And there’s more to the story — the woman who extended her hand to the visibly frightened pup rescued the dog from likely slaughter and provided him with a loving forever home, MailOnline reported.

In a plea to the Chinese government to pass animal protection laws, the dog’s new guardian shared the footage on Douyin — the Chinese version of TikTok — last week.

The American Eskimo dog, now named Yuan Yuan, was probably stolen from his family as a pet and taken to the slaughterhouse. His rescuer describes him as sweet and joyful in her social media posts, and says that loves smiling at people.

Heartwarming stories like this offer hope in the fight against dog meat and remind us of how important it is to speak up for animals.

If you haven’t yet, sign Lady Freethinker’s petition to ban the cruel dog and cat meat trade in China, so innocent dogs like Yuan Yuan aren’t slaughtered and eaten.

SIGN: End China’s Horrific Dog and Cat Meat Trade