A viral video of shelter dogs receiving a very special treat has delighted viewers this week.

Posted on the TikTok account belonging to Michigan Animal Rescue League—mi_animalrescueleague—the video of the dogs' chicken nugget day has melted hearts online.

Also shared by the team on Reddit's r/rarepuppers forum, the video has gained more than 31,000 upvotes and hundreds of comments.

In the video, dogs Betsy, Teslo, Chewbacca, Daisy, Frisbee, Pippa, Hershey, Buzz and Spots are given a chicken nugget on what the shelter has dubbed: "chicken nugget day."

"Simultaneously the sweetest yet most heartbreaking vid," said one commenter. While another wrote: "These are literally some of the cutest dogs I've ever seen in my life."

Showing just a few of the residents at the rescue center, in a later comment Michigan Animal Rescue League (MARL) said: "They're all living the good life here."

MARL is one of southeast Michigan's most established animal shelters and has been helping animals in need since 1953.

Tommy Sanfilippo, Animal Care Technician at Michigan Animal Rescue League told Newsweek: "We do enrichment at least once a day for all the dogs. Sometimes it's frozen wet food, and sometimes it's treat bags, puzzles, snuffle mats, or lick pads. One of our staff members picked up some chicken nuggets while on their lunch break that day. We would normally put them into kongs, but the dogs had already had kongs that morning, so we passed them out as an extra little treat."

The shelter cares for more than 1,500 animals annually, with over 200 animals currently in their care.

"Aww, they're all so polite and sweet," wrote another commenter after viewing the video.

"Brought tears to my eyes," said another reply: "Thank you for extra kindness to these pups."

Animal experts agree that in small amounts, it's ok to feed your canine friend chicken nuggets. However, while chicken is a great source of protein, most chicken nuggets contain other ingredients that may not be suitable for dogs. In excess, the processed treat can be bad for your dog.

Great alternative treats for your pooch include lean chicken meat, vegetables, and even a homemade chicken nugget.

The team at MARL hopes that sharing the adorable video online will have two positive results for their residents: "Short-term, the right presence online can greatly aid in adoptions, donations, and recruitment of staff and volunteers," explained Sanfilippo.

"Long-term, the state-of-the-art care that we are able to provide is something that we'd love to see become the norm in the world of animal welfare. It would be awesome if other shelters could look at what we are able to do here and parlay that into higher standards for their own methods, facilities, and overall level of care."

"Thank you for sharing," said another commenter: "Definitely needed this smile today. I hope they all find amazing forever homes."

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