Carson (USA) - Ghost was known as the most secretive dog in the entire shelter. The husky largely shut himself off from people and dogs - but then his story went viral.

Ghost was found as a stray on the street and was visibly nervous when he arrived at the Carson Animal Shelter in California. The husky made a very anxious and withdrawn impression.

Despite the efforts of the staff to help him, the dog's condition did not improve at first.

Shelter volunteer Jan Vega told Newsweek: "He wasn't eating during the day, just nibbling on his food when the lights went out. One of our volunteers sat with him in his kennel for several days. She played him soft music, brought him treats and talked to him, but nothing helped."

Ghost spent most of his time isolated in a corner of his kennel and showed no interest in the people around him. One day Jan took Ghost for a walk, but the dog froze and hid behind a bush - eventually he had to be carried back. "It was so sad to see," said Jan.

Hoping to get help, the shelter shared Ghost's story on TikTok .

With 5.9 million views and more than 760,000 likes, the TikTok video went viral. Numerous people were touched by the story of the intimidated dog and wanted to know more.

The animal welfare organization "Shadow Husky Rescue" also became aware of Ghost and offered its help.

"Together, we managed to find a great foster family who were able to take him in straight away," said Jan. "His new owner has a lot of experience with dogs and is taking things very slowly. Ghost can relax in peace and quiet before being let out with the other dogs. She has a separate room for him where he spends most of the day."

It is thought that Ghost may have been abused in the past - which would explain his severe anxiety. Whatever happened, Jan and her fellow campaigners are delighted that they were able to use social media to significantly improve the sweet husky's life.