The dog was left outside of a veterinary hospital in Fresno at night, but the hospital was unable to care for her due to legal liability.

Her former owners left a note attached citing a family emergency as the reason, and that they had no other option because they could no longer look after the canine.

“I’m sorry,” they wrote. “Due to a family emergency, we cannot keep it. We love her but unfortunately we don’t want to dump her and her babies just on the street. My dad tried everything without success,” read the note.

Fresno Humane animal control officer Breana Begin shared the note in a viral TikTok video in July, writing: “To the family who dumped their pregnant dog at the front door of the veterinary hospital late last night. I picked her up this morning. She was terrified. She didn’t deserve this. She deserved better.”

The TikTok, which has generated 1.1 million views so far, showed the dog with a large pregnant belly inside her cage followed by footage of classic puppy dog eyes. The final scenes, however, showed her in the care of Begin who wrote that the dog is “safe now.”

Despite shock at how she was abandoned, the pregnant pup isn’t the only four-legged friend to be left homeless in the U.S.—far from it. Research from the ASPCA shows that around 3.1 million dogs are abandoned or given up to shelters each year.

Although the previous owners may have believed they were doing an act better than leaving her on the side of the road, Begin confirmed in a comment that the vet hospital is not “legally allowed” to care for her “due to liability.”

Thankfully, the animal shelter was able to step in and the dog safely birthed eight puppies. Now, she’s a mom to six girls and two boys who are all “doing well.”

As of July 25, the dog was still at the shelter but her current adoption status is unknown.

Newsweek has contacted Breana Begin for comment.

Meanwhile, TikTok users were left equally heartbroken and touched by the story of the abandoned canine, flooding the comments online.

“My heart broke seeing her terrified and hurt. I just can’t and won’t ever understand how people can be this cruel. Unbelievable,” wrote one user.

“Poor girl. Hope her next home will treat her like a queen,” agreed another.