Santa surprises 12-year-old boy with a new pet in heartwarming video

vt-author-image

By VT

Article saved!Article saved!

You could be a complete Christmas grinch, or be someone who has never celebrated that particular holiday, but there's something about this season that can bring out the best in people. For all the annoyances that can come with it, there's something great about any time of year where the focus is on spending time with your loved ones and spreading kindness into the world.

Even at such a young age, twelve-year old Austin Brooks is putting in the time to help the world around him where he can. For instance, he spends a lot of his free time working at an animal shelter, where he's built up a strong connection with a lot of the animals. His mother, Mari, works at the Humane Society of Genesee County, in Michigan, and he joins her to volunteer, walking the dogs and spending time with the cats there.

[[imagecaption|| Credit: The Dodo / Mari Brooks]]

This holiday season, the shelter held a special event with Santa Claus himself in attendance as a special guest. While Austin had no idea beforehand, he was surprised with a new furry buddy in Gizzard the cat. This incredible early Christmas present was even sweeter, knowing what Austin and his family had been through recently.

Speaking to The Dodo, Austin's mother explained that their family had recently lost their own cat, with it passing away around a month ago. Austin was particularly upset, but occupied himself by spending time with the cats at the Humane Society. He even, apparently, hosted a yoga session featuring the cute kittens shortly after. It was during this event that he met Gizzard the black cat for the first time, and immediately found there was a connection between the two of them.

[[imagecaption|| Credit: The Dodo / Mari Brooks]]

Mari noticed that her son had taken a shine to the animal, and since they had recently lost their pet, she decided to adopt the cat. Making some arrangements in secret, she then started to search for the perfect way to reveal the news to Austin - eventually settling on going through Santa himself.

While the twelve-year-old believed he was taking part in a photoshoot with Santa and his new best bud Gizzard, they were actually ready to film his reaction. When they revealed that the cat was a present, Austin could barely believe his eyes. You can watch his reaction in the video below:

[[facebookwidget||https://www.facebook.com/mari.brooks2/videos/10161055714935487/]]

"So today we brought home a new friend! Austin fell in love with him and I put him on hold and Austin didn’t know," Mari wrote on Facebook. "Warning if you don’t want to cry don’t watch the video!! I and everyone was was bawling like babies ?"

"His reaction was the best thing I have ever seen. Everyone was crying watching this all happen," she told the Dodo. "Gizzard sleeps with him every night. He comes running when Austin calls him…They really are best friends!"

[[imagecaption|| Credit: The Dodo / Mari Brooks]]

The video, which now has over 48,000 views, is going viral for a good reason - we all love a little Christmas cheer this time of year.

Santa surprises 12-year-old boy with a new pet in heartwarming video

vt-author-image

By VT

Article saved!Article saved!

You could be a complete Christmas grinch, or be someone who has never celebrated that particular holiday, but there's something about this season that can bring out the best in people. For all the annoyances that can come with it, there's something great about any time of year where the focus is on spending time with your loved ones and spreading kindness into the world.

Even at such a young age, twelve-year old Austin Brooks is putting in the time to help the world around him where he can. For instance, he spends a lot of his free time working at an animal shelter, where he's built up a strong connection with a lot of the animals. His mother, Mari, works at the Humane Society of Genesee County, in Michigan, and he joins her to volunteer, walking the dogs and spending time with the cats there.

[[imagecaption|| Credit: The Dodo / Mari Brooks]]

This holiday season, the shelter held a special event with Santa Claus himself in attendance as a special guest. While Austin had no idea beforehand, he was surprised with a new furry buddy in Gizzard the cat. This incredible early Christmas present was even sweeter, knowing what Austin and his family had been through recently.

Speaking to The Dodo, Austin's mother explained that their family had recently lost their own cat, with it passing away around a month ago. Austin was particularly upset, but occupied himself by spending time with the cats at the Humane Society. He even, apparently, hosted a yoga session featuring the cute kittens shortly after. It was during this event that he met Gizzard the black cat for the first time, and immediately found there was a connection between the two of them.

[[imagecaption|| Credit: The Dodo / Mari Brooks]]

Mari noticed that her son had taken a shine to the animal, and since they had recently lost their pet, she decided to adopt the cat. Making some arrangements in secret, she then started to search for the perfect way to reveal the news to Austin - eventually settling on going through Santa himself.

While the twelve-year-old believed he was taking part in a photoshoot with Santa and his new best bud Gizzard, they were actually ready to film his reaction. When they revealed that the cat was a present, Austin could barely believe his eyes. You can watch his reaction in the video below:

[[facebookwidget||https://www.facebook.com/mari.brooks2/videos/10161055714935487/]]

"So today we brought home a new friend! Austin fell in love with him and I put him on hold and Austin didn’t know," Mari wrote on Facebook. "Warning if you don’t want to cry don’t watch the video!! I and everyone was was bawling like babies ?"

"His reaction was the best thing I have ever seen. Everyone was crying watching this all happen," she told the Dodo. "Gizzard sleeps with him every night. He comes running when Austin calls him…They really are best friends!"

[[imagecaption|| Credit: The Dodo / Mari Brooks]]

The video, which now has over 48,000 views, is going viral for a good reason - we all love a little Christmas cheer this time of year.