A woman who visited and fed a dog that was chained to a tree for a year has shared her joy at finally being able to adopt her after the owner was forced to give her up.

Laura Seymour, from Virginia, went to see the friendly akita three times a week and topped up her bowl with nourishment.

She called animal control several times but was told the dog wasn't considered to be being maltreated provided it had a dog house, adequate food and water.

Knowing the owner wasn't caring for her properly, Laura spent a year visiting the pooch, which she named Takia, and regularly took videos of the happy hound greeting her with licks and a wagging tail.

Laura Seymour, from Virginia, went to see the friendly akita, whom she named Takia, pictured together, three times a week and topped up her bowl with nourishment

After enduring a snowy winter, Laura became concerned for Takia's welfare in the summer, fearing she'd overheat in the hot sun.

Having taken her mother to visit the pooch, she was compelled to called animal control a final time, and they phoned her back a day later to explain the owner had been asked to surrender the dog.

Laura jumped at the chance to take on the pooch, and she's now thoroughly enjoying her new home.

Speaking to The Dodo Soulmates, Laura explained Takia is like a 'new dog' and she feels very lucky to have adopted her.

After enduring a snowy winter, Laura became concerned for Takia's welfare in the summer, fearing she'd overheat in the hot sun

Laura called animal control several times but was told the dog wasn't considered to be being maltreated provided it had a dog house, adequate food and water. Pictured: Laura took several videos of her visits which she shared to Facebook

'As soon as I found out she was five I was like, that's awesome, yay, I got so much time with her, but then again, I can't believe she went through sleeping outside 24-7 and in the mud,' she said.

'It rained, it snowed, and she was just sleeping outside in the mud.'

She added: 'There's just something about her, I got super lucky, I really did.'

Laura admitted she was initially cautious about approaching Takia as she was a 'big dog'.

'I'm like, "I don't know if I'm gonna go over and it's gonna be OK",' she explained. 'I actually just walked straight up to her and she was the happiest dog I've ever seen, she was wagging her tail.'

Laura admitted she was initially cautious about approaching Takia as she was a 'big dog' - but she turned out to be the 'happiest' hound ever

Laura admitted to being 'pretty mad' when animal control visited and deemed the hound to be sufficiently looked after, and told them she'd continue to feed her because the owner wasn't

After their initial encounter, Laura told how Takia began to recognise her car and get visibly excited every time she arrived.

She didn't think anyone lived at the house where the dog was chained up to the tree, and became increasingly attached as she fed her and gave her water.

'I'm like, "Oh my gosh I have to take this dog",' she told Dodo Soulmates. 'I'm gonna have to steal it, I'm gonna have to do something for it. I was like, "No I'll go to jail for this dog".'

She admitted to being 'pretty mad' when animal control visited and deemed the hound to be sufficiently looked after, and told them she'd continue to feed her because the owner clearly wasn't.

Laura jumped at the chance to take on the dog, and she's now thoroughly enjoying her new home

Since being widely shared on social media, Laura has received an outpouring of support from dog lovers across the world, with many praising her kind actions

A year later, worried Takia would be 'dying' in the heat, Laura's mother urged her to try animal control one more time.

That was when she agreed to take her on - and revealed Takia is now 'so grateful' she gets to sleep in a bed at night.

'It's like, 100 per cent she is so appreciative of everything,' Laura said.

Since her video was widely shared on social media last week, Laura has received an outpouring of support from dog lovers across the world, with many praising her kind actions.

One person who commented on the Dodo video, which has notched up over 10 million views, claimed to be neighbours with the original owner.

'I am so glad she got her!' she wrote. 'I live next door and we also fed her and called animal control and they would tell us the same thing about the house. My husband would bring her food and water and my sister-in-law across the street would too.

'So animal control must have thought the owner was but they never did. They just yelled at her. I'm so happy she has a good home!'