22-07-2025
Special Needs Puppies With Uncontrollable Shaking Get Second Chance
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
A litter of tiny puppies who can't stop shaking have found the perfect home with a rescue center focused on special needs dogs.
Shannon Tarr runs the Emotional Rescue in Hastings, Minnesota, which she set up in 2017 to help care for dogs with special needs.
In June, she got a very special litter of Chow mix puppies—and after sharing a video of them to her TikTok account, @emotionalrescuedogs, both the pups and her work have gone viral.
"They have shaking puppy syndrome," Tarr explained to Newsweek, but added the good news that they "will likely outgrow" the condition.
Shaking puppy syndrome, also known as hypomyelination, affects a dog's nervous system, causing nerves and muscles to malfunction. Symptoms can begin as early as two weeks after birth, and tremors can become more violent while eating, but ease while resting, according to a vet-reviewed report from PetMD.
While there is no treatment for the syndrome, most puppies recover by around a year old, though may still experience mild hind limb tremors.
Tarr told Newsweek: "Their mother was with a breeder, and she had the same condition. When the breeder died, they went to another rescue that transferred them to us."
"We treat them like regular puppies—with lots of playtime and socializing!"
The litter of puppies with Shaking Puppy Syndrome.
The litter of puppies with Shaking Puppy Syndrome.
TikTok @emotionalrescuedogs
In a video shared to her page on June 8, Tarr showed the gorgeous fluffy puppies running around outside together for their morning feed
And while all five puppies appear content, they are shaking non-stop, with one almost lifting its hind legs off the ground as it tries to eat breakfast.
They meet some of the other dogs at the shelter, watch the horses grazing out back, and use their voices to bark at everything interesting, while moving and shaking the entire time.
The video went viral, with more than 730,000 likes and 9.2 million views, as animal lovers' hearts broke for the litter, one calling it "so, so sad" and another sharing sympathy for the "poor babies."
"How do their muscles maintain that movement, that must be exhausting for them," another wrote, as many commenters asked about the condition.
One commenter, who identified themselves as a veterinary technician, assured viewers that pups with shaking puppy syndrome "can live a very long, happy, and goofy twerkful life. They will be just fine."
The litter meeting the other animals at the rescue.
The litter meeting the other animals at the rescue.
TikTok @emotionalrescuedogs
In Tarr's most recent videos of the puppies, shared on July 20, the litter can be seen playing together in the yard, and their tremors appear to have calmed slightly.
Undeterred by their shaking, each of the pups is running, jumping ,and chasing each other while fighting for a chew toy.
One puppy is missing from the litter, however, as he was adopted into a loving forever home just days earlier. And now, the rest of the litter are ready to go to new homes, too.
In the later videos of the puppies, many comments have changed from shocked and saddened to enjoying the puppies for who they are, with one recent commenter writing: "They always make me smile and laugh. So darn cute, shaky and all."
And as another put it: "I love watching all of them. So adorable, and you all get better and stronger every day."
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