Sometimes doing nothing instead of helping someone is not an option, and doing “the best I can” is not enough. That was true in the case of “Bad Dog” and the Mississippi shelter that had to rescue him even though it had no more room.
Neglected or abandoned pets are far too numerous these days, and shelters simply can’t handle the volume of animals that are turned in. For these homeless pets, it’s a crisis.
When Shaw Pit Bull Rescue in Columbus heard about Bad Dog, they had no room in their facility to take him in—the shelter was full.
Bad Dog had been living in seclusion, chained to a pole in mud with no food or water for the past five years. When the police recovered the animal and brought him to the shelter, he was in horrible shape. He was 20 pounds (approx. 9 kg) underweight, and all of his ribs could be seen through his skin. He was covered in sores from exposure to mud and rain.
One would think that the poor dog had been abandoned by his owner and left to die, but shockingly, that was not the case. The owner of the property where Bad Dog was found had kept him that way for five terrible years.
Shaw Pit Bull Rescue decided to call up the owner to answer some questions that they had, which only served to nauseate them. That was when they learned that the owner had named him “Bad Dog,” as that was the only thing they ever called him.
He had received no love or attention, nor was he taken to the vet in years.
“Sometimes owners are crap, and that’s exactly what he got stuck with,” the shelter wrote on Facebook.
“We got off the phone, and we did what we do. We loved him. We cared for him. We warmed him inside and out. And we tried to dry him off as best as possible. Then we promised him that he will never be called ‘Bad Dog’ again.”
They gave him a new name, Phoenix, and made a promise to care for him on his journey to recovery.
As you can see from the photos taken after Phoenix was taken under their wing, his muddy hellhole was replaced with an electric heater to warm his soaking-wet bones and a soft, dry bed.
Update: sadly, we recently learned from the shelter that Phoenix had passed away, as his condition was too far gone. May he rest in peace in doggy heaven.
