Teen jumps into pool to save her drowning dog while filming a TikTok video
By Robin ZlotnickJuly 17 2024, Updated 1:46 p.m. ET
A teen went viral on TikTok for a video in which she jumps into a pool to save her drowning dog. In the video, Cadence Beavers sets her phone up by a pool and starts to dance. Several dogs are roaming around the pool, and all of a sudden, one jumps in and immediately sinks to the bottom.
Cadence apparently hears the splash because she springs into action. She turns around, sees the dog in the pool, quickly kicks off her shoes, jumps in, and helps the dog to the surface. The whole video is just a few seconds long, but it's been liked over two million times.
"Omfg saved my dog and my shoes," Cadence captioned the video, adding hashtags including "#icantstopshaking" and "she's okay."
Cadence told In the Know, "I didn't know that all dogs couldn't swim so I heard the splash and I turned around and then it clicked that [MJ] was just sinking to the bottom like a rock.
"I totally forgot I was even making a TikTok!" she continued. "It was just my instincts to take off my shoes and check for my phone and them jump in quickly." It really does look scary. MJ, the dog, sinks right to the bottom of the pool. Even though it looks like she was slowly making her way up, Cadence was scared that she had already drowned.
But don't worry. MJ was perfectly fine, probably thanks to Cadence's quick action. She told In the Know, "I was so scared [MJ] was gonna choke on water but she was perfectly fine as soon as we got out. I'm just so glad MJ is OK and I can't believe all that happened on camera."
Indeed, it kind of looks too convenient to be true. But it did really happen. And so many people became invested in the dog's wellbeing. "So glad you were there [at] the right time," one person wrote.
"I was stressing seeing the doggo being under for so long," another wrote. "Good job, girl." I'm sure it was a total relief that MJ was OK.
Since Cadence posted that video, she's gone back to posting videos of herself doing dances by the pool, this time with no dogs around. Also, never fear. She posted an update with her and MJ to show everyone that she came out of this just fine.
In it, she updates everyone on the status of not only MJ but all her belongings too. She also addresses some hate she's gotten since posting the video. "Not only is my dog safe," she says, "my shoes are fine. My phone's fine. I had no idea until that day that some dogs didn't know how to swim.
"So whoever's mad because it was my natural instinct to take off my shoes before I jumped in, you can stay mad because her head wasn't even under the water for five seconds, and her head was popped up before I even jumped in. And second of all, her live was saved ultimately.
"Why can't that just be what it is and be a good thing... You still find something to be mad at. You can stay mad because we're OK."
She then clarified that there is indeed a gate around the pool. The dogs were only allowed in there because she was in there with them.
Cadence then said, "Just because I took off my shoes and checked if my phone was in my pocket doesn't mean I value those things more than my animals and my dogs."
Her dog is fine. She did the right thing. Stop hating on the TikTok teen who saved her dog!
This article was originally published on March 25, 2020 . It has since been updated.