A puppy named Turkey has gone viral on social media after experiencing her first day at the beach.

Evan Cooper began fostering dogs earlier this year, when Hurricane Debby was set to hit his hometown of Charleston, South Carolina, and shelters sent out appeals warning that dogs would be euthanized if they were not taken in.

"When I heard that, I almost felt like I had a responsibility to help a dog out for the week," Cooper told Newsweek. "That's how I met my first foster, Elle."

Elle stayed with Cooper and his 11-month-old German shepherd, Vader, for three weeks until she found a permanent home, and Cooper's foster journey began.

He recently took in a 7-pound puppy named Turkey, who ended up in a shelter after she and her siblings were found abandoned at 8 weeks old.

"There's no telling how long exactly she and her siblings were out in the woods trying to survive," he said. "After [local shelter] Dusty Tails had posted a picture of her, I knew I wanted to take her in to give her some stability until she found her forever home."

Turkey immediately became a part of the family, as Cooper put it, "It only took her 10 seconds to poop on my carpet."

On November 8, Cooper posted a video on his TikTok account @_withcoop showing him, Vader and Turkey at the beach. The clip has proved massively popular, receiving 2.7 million likes.

In the clip, Turkey sticks close to Cooper, and at first, she seems unsure of what to make of the lapping waves. Vader, meanwhile, rushes ahead and runs into the water to fetch his ball.

By the end of the clip, Turkey has found her courage, and she jumps, runs and plays with the older dog, even digging a little hole in the sand after watching the German shepherd.

After a long day at the beach, Turkey falls asleep in the car.

In the video's comments section, thousands of viewers shared their love of Turkey—with one writing, "That is Scrappy Doo!"

"The way she started digging too," another added, while one user said: "Please please please keep her. She's the cutest."

Cooper said it was "extremely hard" to give up the dogs he fostered, as he formed "such a close relationship with them."

"It's next to impossible for these dogs not to take up some serious real estate in your heart. It makes it all the more difficult when you literally hand them to their new owner. That part is never fun," he said.

Still, the fosterer was certain of his role, saying, "It's not about me."

"My job, when it comes to fostering, is to provide some stability to these dogs' lives," Cooper continued, adding: "My job is to get them to a place where they're ready to be in a family for the rest of their lives. Having that mindset helps me keep going and wanting to foster."

An estimated 6.3 million cats and dogs enter shelters across the United States each year, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. About 4.1 million shelter animals are adopted each year, but 920,000 are euthanized. This figure has declined in recent years as more people foster and adopt.

Reflecting on their day at the beach, Cooper said Turkey was "so funny—her emotions were all over the place."

"We got to the sand, and she was through-the-roof excited. She had the zoomies of all zoomies," he said. Though she was "not feeling" the water at first, after watching Vader happily crash into the waves, she became more comfortable.

"She started getting a little farther away from me, until a big wave crashed and she came right back to my feet," Cooper said, adding that he thought it was time to leave. However, "as soon as we got back to the sand, she was back to zoomie mode."

"She saw Vader digging hole after hole, so she decided to do the same. It was a really sweet experience to watch," he added.

Cooper said the number of likes and views on his viral video didn't mean anything to him, as his "joy and fulfillment comes from the actual creating" of the video and showcasing of the nervous pup's first day at the beach.

He added: "I will say, though, the best part about the massive response to that video is people telling me it inspired them to consider fostering. That's real impact. Not millions of artificial likes and views.

"Real people are going out in their own community and making a difference just like I am trying to do.

"I tell myself all the time that if just ONE person, on any of my videos, feels inspired, seen or heard, I did my job."

Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend, and they could appear in our "Pet of the Week" lineup.