Man Rescues Emaciated Puppy Tethered to a Tree; From Forgotten to Loved in 58 Days

Matt was in a rural town in north Florida for three days supervising drilling for his work when he spotted a puppy.

He noticed the puppy was emaciated and tethered to a tree next to a mobile home. She only had about 7 feet of room to move about.

He did not notice anyone come outside at first, but when he did see the inhabitants of the trailer, he knew they were drug users and that the puppy was in trouble.

Matt described, “The puppy was extremely scared and I tried to feed her crackers the first day but she hid from me. The second day I brought her fresh water and after some reluctance she went crazy on the crackers. At that point I knew I would not leave the job without her.”

This is Matt’s rescue story:

“Day 1: She did not move at all, except when I approached her she hid from me. It poured with rain and she did not move from this spot. I was heartbroken (and angry).”

“Day 2: I got to the site very early and gave her fresh water and some crackers. She finally let me get close and turned in to a love bug; now I could give her a once over. Visibly in pain, skin and bones, tons of ticks and other bugs, very early onset of mange, and a fat belly full of worms. I don’t think she had much time left as they were not feeding her at all; other folks in the trailer park would drop scraps randomly driving in/out.”

“Day 3: Freedom ride! It took a lot of convincing, but they let me take her. She did a complete 180 in my truck even through her discomfort. Many kisses and snuggles ensued. I estimated her at ~3 months due to her massive paws and razor puppy teeth.”

“I brought her to a local pet shop to get some basics for the weekend (tick shampoo, food, and all that). The girls in the store went nuts and loved all over her. Visually exhausted from all the loving on the ride home.”

“It might be hard to tell how emaciated she is in this pic, but that “eyebrow” is her skin on the frontal/orbital bone of her eye socket. She had no ‘meat’ anywhere on her body.”

“I only took 2 photos of her at home. It was very hard for me. It was difficult not to give her a massive bowl of food. I gave her small meals and kept her as comfortable as I could. I pulled about 75 ticks and gave her a good scrubbing, which she loved. She was heavily panting, pacing, and couldn’t lay down. I could not touch her belly or she would yelp in pain. I stayed awake all that night over 36 hours trying to comfort her.”

“She just stood by the trash can hoping to get more food :(”

“I was in communication with my local humane society the entire time. I often work 60-80 hour weeks and there was no way I could keep her. I had to have my wonderful girlfriend take her in for me. I was a mess – what if they had to put her down? Fortunately, that was not the case :-)”

“They gave me updates on her progress. She was entered into a summer camp program for kids due to being so young to learn basic training and was adopted immediately!”

“Adoption day: I am ecstatic and overjoyed she has a happy ending. Being a small part of getting her the love she deserves is what keeps me going on those rough days. I know there are countless others out there who will not be so lucky. I will continue to do my best to help animals in need and I am making a donation to my local humane society.”

Within 58 days a puppy that was clearly on her way to dying was instead rescued and now is healthy and happy in a new home, all thanks to Matt refusing to turn a blind eye to a dog in need.