Emaciated Dogue de Bordeaux Found Curled Up and Shivering in Need of Christmas Miracle

An emaciated dog who was found curled up in the snow at a nature reserve, was so weak that she could not stand up and didn’t even have the energy to lift her head.

A passerby noticed the poor dog and rescuers were alerted to the dog’s desperate situation.

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“Every year Jennie Dhanjal from K9 Search UK calls us with a desperate case that needs nothing short of a Christmas miracle,” says The Animal House Rescue, a dog rescue based in Birmingham, England. “Every year with hard work and your help our prayers are answered and a life is saved.”

The dog, now named Elsa, was found abandoned in Birmingham’s Corngreaves Nature Reserve and is believed to be a Dogue de Bordeux and around 4 years old. When she was brought in to the vets she weighed less than half of the average body weight for her breed. She was given a body score of 0.5 out of 5, weighing a mere 39 pounds (17.5kg) – she should be a minimum of 99 pounds (45kg).

Elsa was so badly dehydrated that every bone was showing and she had no muscle left.

She was given intravenous liquids and antibiotics and received a battery of tests.

After her first day, it was time for a well earned sleep.

Elsa woke up on her second day a little bit more alert and able to lift her head.

She’s wearing a wooly jumper to stay warm.

By day 3 she was a little more alert.

“Sitting up today and taking notice, Elsa is still struggling to get up from a lying down position as she has no muscle to get her up,” says The Animal House Rescue.

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“Yay Elsa is on her feet. Very wobbly legs and had to be helped up but practice makes perfect. No sign of tumours or underlying problems so probably all down to sheer neglect,” the rescue writes in an update. “Elsa is now drinking on her own and eating her miniscule portions of her gastrointestinal food. Well done girl!”

At day 4 there was a bit of a set back.




“The past few days caught up with Elsa over night and she went a bit flat so is back on a drip. The excitement and the ‘instant’ fix the fluids gave her short term was energy she couldn’t afford to use and she’s is knackered,” The Animal House Rescue says.

“So she has been banned from doing anything that will use up her energy reserves any more and so she’s gone back to bed.”

“The problem with Elsa is that she cannot stand unaided and feeling a little better than she did when she first arrived Elsa wanted to say ‘Hi’ to everyone visiting.”

“So no more visits for now as when she tries to stand she’s paddling on the floor trying to get up. To her its like swimming 100m, leaving her exhausted.”

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“So for the next few days we will be getting limited photos and they will probably all look the same…Elsa relaxing.”




And getting some well-deserved hugs too!

The rescue says they’ve been inundated with calls of people interested in adopting Elsa. But they said it’s a little too early in her recovery.

“We will not consider home offers for Elsa in the immediate future as her future is still uncertain and we have no idea what her requirements and temperament will be yet,” The Animal House Rescue writes. “Our rescue work continues with existing and new animals and as a small rescue we are doing our very best to ensure we cover everything but it all takes time.”

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In the meantime, the group is working hard to continue to make Elsa healthy. They shared a video of Elsa being weighed on Day 6. “As you can see she has started to gain weight which is brilliant,” the group writes.

Since Elsa’s story was shared, there’s been an outpouring of support from dog lovers all over the world. Over £5000 has been donated to the rescue so far.

However, the rescue is asking people to not call the veterinarians.

“While we appreciate everyone’s continued support and concern for our girl, this is seriously impeding the practice and causing huge problems for an already busy staff who cannot release any information to the public direct,” they say.

Instead, if you would like to help Elsa in her recovery, consider making a donation to The Animal House Rescue .

The fact that Elsa would not have survived the night, but has now found her way into the loving arms of these rescuers is a true Christmas miracle.