A wonderful rescue story about an abused and neglected dog who was looking for his forever home… and found it!
Ten years ago, the week before Mother’s Day, my partner and I were driving down a highly traveled road in rural Virginia on our way to a jobsite. Halfway to work it started raining and as we came around a bend in the road we saw a dog sitting in the middle of the opposite lane.. in front of a logging truck. If you know anything about trucks that size, then you know they simply can not stop on a dime. Traffic was backing up behind the logging truck and without knowing what we were getting into, we pulled over.
I opened the car door and said, “Hey baby! What are you doing in the road? Why don’t you come over here?” He immediately ran over and jumped right into the vehicle, surprising us both.
He was friendly but seemed fearful. I knew that demeanor, I am an abuse victim too and it’s hard to ignore the obvious signs. We pet the dog and tried to soothe him while discussing what to do with him. His anxiety level was obvious as it was not even remotely warm, yet he was panting like mad. We decided the raucous excuse for music that was playing was probably not helping him, so we switched CDs to Gordon Lightfoot. From the backseat came a paw very lightly patting me on the head as if to say thank you.
My man looked at me and even though we had just lost a dog two months before he said, “Happy Mother’s Day! You wanna keep him?” I dropped Adam off at the job site and returned home with our new baby.
He is a mix, Cocker Spaniel and Border Collie. His coat was long and dreadlocked so I set to making him more comfortable. We spent that whole morning and afternoon on the back deck together while I trimmed all his fur down to about 1/8″ so I could bathe him. In the process I discovered over three hundred fleas on his body (after 300 I stopped counting!), more than 40 ticks, flatworms were crawling from his rectum, he had a cut on the cornea of his left eye, a cracked canine, a broken and rotten molar on the same side, he had bird shot (lead pellets) embedded in both of his ears…that this dog was even trusting me to examine and groom him began to blow my mind.
After thinking about it I realized someone had kicked this dog in the face with a steel toed boot because when I put my husband’s shoe up to his head the placement was too much of a match to ignore.
When I tried to bring him inside the house the real tell tale signs of abuse appeared. He refused to cross the threshhold into the house so I picked him up and carried him inside. As soon as I put him down he began shaking and urinated himself running for the door. I held him in my arms on the front porch and cried. Someone had seriously hurt this dog physically and emotionally.
When I took him to the veterinarian to care for the flatworms, have Lyme’s and heartworm testing, make plans to have him fixed (since he was still intact at the age of about 1 and a half years old and already had a suspicious mass on his colon)and get a general check up, the vet agreed this dog had suffered severe neglect and abuse.
This dog’s character was simply broken. He has been our baby boy for 10 years and even after hiring a behavioral specialist, there are still many issues we have not been able to resolve.
As much as this might devastate the average person, it makes Lightfoot so dear to me. I finally have someone in my life that understands certain effects of abuse can never be reversed. I feel better prepared to care for him because I have more patience when he freezes instead of following a command. He has filled a very empty space in my heart -where I needed the reminder that just because I’m damaged doesn’t mean I am any less worthy of love. He is deserving of every ounce of love we can offer him. Watching his trust grow and his fears dissipate has been the most challenging and most beautiful journey ever!
My life would simply be empty without him.
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DoggoPupper 
What a wonderful story of triumph!! Thank you for giving Lifefoot a loving home and 2nd chance.
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What a great story..thank you for showing him were all not bad and out to hurt him..God bless you both ..it sounds like he saved you to
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He found his saving Angels.
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Thank you for taking Lifefoot into your care and blanketing with love and nothing more. May God bless you and Lifefoot.
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your story is wonderful and thank you for empathy of loving the poor little dog worthy of much more love than we fathom. I hope Karma gets his abuser and EVERY FKN PERSON WHO DARES TO STOOP LOW ENOUGH TO HURT AN INNOCENT BEAUTIFUL GIFT FROM GOD. YOU CAN’T HIDE. KARMA IS A UNIVERSAL IT WILL FIND YOU. YOU DON’T DESERVE TO BREATHE THE AIR. THANK GOODNESS FOR WONDERFUL PEOPLE LIKE THIS FAMILY IT MAKES THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE.
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your story is wonderful and thank you for empathy of loving the poor little dog worthy of much more love than we fathom. I hope Karma gets his abuser and EVERY FKN PERSON WHO DARES TO STOOP LOW ENOUGH TO HURT AN INNOCENT BEAUTIFUL GIFT FROM GOD. YOU CAN’T HIDE. KARMA IS A UNIVERSAL LAW… IT WILL FIND YOU. YOU DON’T DESERVE TO BREATHE THE AIR. THANK GOODNESS FOR WONDERFUL PEOPLE LIKE THIS FAMILY IT MAKES THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE.
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Knowing there are people like you in this world, makes me realize there is still hope for God’s little creatures. Thank you!
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Love your story. Hugs to you and Lightfoot.
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reading your story gives me hope that there are still wonderful people in the world.
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It’s so easy to just drive by an animal sitting in the road. But it takes a special person to stop and help that animal. You’re the special person in Lightfoot’s life. And i only hope that the love, comfort, and understanding you give Lightfoot has also come your way in your life.
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Thank you for being an angel and for allowing an angel to be there for you. Hugs
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I’m happy you both find each other, and I wish you both the best life can give you, peace and love to you both.
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You and your man are angels. My family have taken in many abandoned dogs through out our marriage, and never regretted one. I am now 70 and live with my vegan daughter. We decided to take on a x bred puppy after losing a 13 and a half year old one eyed rescue dog after two years of caring. Broken hearted after such a short time, we also took his sister, the last in the litter she was a handful. The boy was a joy so sweet and full of love, but his sister was a terror (we had never had a pup) She would urinate if upset in the slightest way. She was such a naughty girl that my daughter and I saw that some one who had no patience would find her hard work. Within the next 6 months she turned into the sweetest most obedient dog just because we loved and praised her. I know if people realised that all any dog needs is kind leadership they would not neglect them, because all that says about them is that they are heartless quitters.
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u r an ANGEL ma’am. The world is alive because of people like u…thank you for ur existence and protecting loving many innocent lives.
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This story made me cry because I too was a victim of physical and emotional abuse starting at a very young age, and I have always felt it negatively impacted my personality and ability to grow spiritually. Thanks for sharing your wonderful story about what a difference love and caring can make in any life.
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God bless you, how could you not do what you did?
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What a beautiful story. Thank you for showing this poor dog what love is. All a dog wants from us is love, and so many poor neglected and abused dogs never know what it’s like to be loved. It’s just so terribly sad that there are so many cruel people.
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🐾🐾🐾🐾💕💕💕💕 😘😘😘😘🐕🐕🐕🐕
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SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO CUTE
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I went and adopted a German shepherd. He is blind in one Eye because he has been shot and has a broken canine. He was at West side German shepherd rescue for a year. Off course he hates gun shot noise and thunder also fire works. He has the best personality. I have had him in my life for a year and half. I love him.
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For all those people who have saved and loved these precious innocent animals, I salute your spirits and the world continues to run just because your existence makes it function humanely.
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Thank you for making Lightfoot a part of your life, God Bless you both.
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☺️ for all you do for Lightfoot ❤️
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thank you for all of your love&care for this sad dog & making him happy & secure ! you are wonderful!! I have been taking in rescue dogs since 1991 & every story is different but thank God for people like you
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Beautiful story!
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Wow! I love your story and thanks for sending it!
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I’m so glad he found someone who understands the hurt he feels x
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All I can say is “Awwwwwz!!” What a great story!
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