A pair of puppy mill survivors have been brought together as best friends in the most heartwarming of circumstances.

At least 10,000 puppy mills operate in the United States, with fewer than 3,000 of these regulated by the U.S. Agriculture Department, the Humane Society of the United States estimates.

About a year ago, Jinx and Lil Bit were rescued from a commercial breeding facility in the Midwest and taken into the care of National Mill Dog Rescue, a Colorado nonprofit focused on the rescue, rehabilitation, and rehoming of discarded commercial breeding dogs.

It knows the grim reality of life for dogs like Jinx and Lil Bit. "Most commercial breeding dogs are kept in small cages with little socialization with humans," Melody Kahtava, a volunteer and communications manager at National Mill Dog Rescue, told Newsweek.

"Conditions can be very bad, nothing that a dog should have to withstand. We don't know a lot about Jinx and Lil Bit's day-to-day lives, but conditions in these facilities can be quite poor," she said.

What she does know is that both Jinx and Lil Bit, who are cairn terriers, wasted little time in getting adopted into new homes. That's what made what came next for Lil Bit all the more unfortunate.

"Lil Bit was returned to our shelter after about a year in an adoptive home due to the owner suffering with severe illness," Kahtava said.

Shelters can be difficult places for dogs. There's a lot of noise and not as much personalized care as you get in a normal home setting, despite the staff's best efforts.

Lil Bit struggled this time around. It must have felt like rejection, even though it was anything but that. "He did seem subdued and confused when he was returned," Kahtava said. "I'm sure that's hard for a dog to understand."

But then something wonderful happened. It turned out Mary Swanson, the person who had adopted Jinx, was a longtime volunteer at National Mill Dog Rescue. When Lil Bit first returned, she was quick to notice how similar he was to Jinx.

"She inquired about where they came from and found out that they were indeed littermates and were rescued together," Kahtava said. "She then decided to let them meet and see if they would be friends."

That first meeting could not have gone any better. Lil Bit and Jinx seemed to sense a shared history and became fast friends. All of the fear and nerves Lil Bit had when he first came back disappeared. So Swanson decided to do something incredible.

"They seemed happy to be together and were playing in no time at all, so Mary decided to adopt Lil Bit so they could be together forever," Kahtava said

Now, it's as if they have never been apart, and the sadness Lil Bit felt at having to say goodbye to his first forever home is gone.

"They are doing wonderfully in the home," Kahtava said. "They play and wrestle together, enjoying the freedoms of uncaged lives. They snuggle together and share toys. They enjoy daily walks together and are just sublimely happy."

Eager to share this minor miracle with animal lovers online, National Mill Dog Rescue posted footage of the two happy pups alongside details of their story to TikTok and how they were brought together by an "extraordinary stroke of destiny."

"This sad turn of events unexpectedly led to something beautiful," National Mill Dog Rescue said. "Life truly has a way of working things out."