Johannesburg - More than 300 people have already shown interest in adopting a dog which was left by a man and two boys in a dead-end street in Westdene, Johannesburg, on Youth Day.
The man and children then drove off.
Residents made video clips of the incident and posted it on Facebook. The video has been viewed more than 300 000 times.
"We were sitting on our veranda having lunch when we heard the bakkie stop and saw a child run past our gate," Selwyn Storer, 37, told Netwerk24.
The bakkie then suddenly accelerated and sped away.
"We initially thought they’d left the child and driven off, but then we saw the little dog," said Henno Reyneke, 32, his house mate.
In CCTV footage recorded by their security cameras, one can clearly see how a grey Hilux single cab stops; how a boy holds open the door for another boy who runs to the gate with the dog in his arms.
Unfortunately only the first two digits of the number plate - 24 - are visible on the video.
"We let the dog stay with us overnight, but our dog Cleo, 3, is very possessive so we took him to the Animal Anti Cruelty League (AACL) the following day."
Viral
Reyneke posted the footage on his Facebook page within an hour after the incident, and it went viral.
"On my Facebook alone, it was viewed 170 000 times. On Jacaranda FM and a few other Facebook pages it was viewed even more times."
The mutt and its temporary hosts suddenly became internet celebrities.
"I am getting friend requests from places like Portugal and Argentina," Reyneke laughed, before being interrupted by Storer. "And of those there are more than 300 people who want to adopt the dog."
It seems as if the people who left the dog to its own devices will get off scot-free.
"We struggle to ID people such as that," said Armand Jackson, an AACL inspector.
Jackson asked anyone who can identify the bakkie or knows the people involved to contact them.