Woman adopts rescue dog—months later childhood memory sparks realization

A woman who rescued a dog months ago finally made a realization that brought her closer than ever to her adored pet.

Heather Simpson, 27, lives in Perth, Scotland, with her rescue dog Mabel, who began life on the streets of Macedonia before finding her way to Simpson’s home through rescue efforts.

The mixed breed was given pride of place in Simpson’s bed, sleeping alongside her each night. And in preparation for her arrival, Simpson removed her childhood teddy from her bed, worrying that Mabel would chew it.

Simpson told Newsweek that her teddy, Scruffy, had “been a permanent fixture in my bed” since she was gifted it from her great-grandmother at the age of 6 or 7, until she decided to “put Scruffy away for safekeeping” when she knew a puppy was due to arrive.

Now that Mabel is a bit older, Simpson decided it was time for Scruffy to return—-but when she saw her dog and childhood toy together, she was struck by a realization: they looked practically identical.

In a video to her TikTok account, @themabelbagel on August 20, Simpson shared a photo of her “soul dog,” with wiry, scruffy white fur, fluffy paws, and floppy ears.

She wrote: “Late night finds but it’s me realizing my rescue dog looks identical to my favorite childhood teddy who went everywhere with me.”

The video then changed to show Mabel with Scruffy—and the pair were completely identical, even down to the fur color and texture, floppy ears, black nose, and shiny eyes.

TikTok users were in pieces, one calling it “beautiful” and another commenting: “Yep, that’s cool. I decided to sob today, no worries.”

“[Mabel] was meant to be in your life,” another wrote, as one agreed: “He was always there with you.”

And as another put it: “You manifested him.”

Simpson told Newsweek that when she first got Mabel as a puppy, “she looked completely different. It’s almost like since I’ve had her, she’s morphed into an identical version of Scruffy!”

She said she “didn’t realize” until she finally took Scruffy “out of hibernation” and placed him alongside Mabel that they were identical, adding: “It was like getting a real life version of Scruffy.”

“I always wanted a little terrier when I was younger, so my first thought was how younger me would have reacted—knowing [that] in the future, I got Scruffy in real life.”

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