It’s always a highly emotional experience when Much Love volunteers go to the shelter to decide which animals to rescue.This particular Tuesday was especially so.Longtime Much Lovers Nikki and Ruthanne were pulling dogs from the South Central LA shelter when a woman came running in with what appeared to be a dead dog in her arms.The little dog looked like a Cockapoo.He wasn’t moving and there was blood on his hind end.They feared he had been hit by a car.There was no veterinarian on duty to assess him, but the dog seemed beyond help.The kindest thing seemed to be putting the dog to sleep.But as the vet techs started to take him away, the little dog raised his head for the first time and looked directly at Nikki and Ruthanne.They made a decision from the heart: “Wait!”
Ruthanne rushed the dog to the Animal Surgical and Emergency Center.Vets immediately ran a series of tests, which revealed no injuries, but severe dehydration and malnutrition, as well as a raging internal infection.His blood pressure was dangerously low.He was given fluids, glucose and antibiotics.The staff at ASEC said the little dog came close to “seeing the light” several times that first day, but he pulled through each time.He just wasn’t ready to die.
Nikki and Ruthanne initially called the dog “Dirty Snow”, because that’s what he looked like with all the dirt and grime on his curly white coat.But as he continues to respond to treatment, they thought he deserved a better name.He’s now called Leo.He appears to be around two years old.Leo had a feeding tube for a while, but is now eating on his own.He gets up and moves around his cage.And when his guardian angel Nikki stopped by to visit, he wagged his tail and covered her with kisses.Leo is still battling a parvo infection and recovering from worms, but less than two weeks after nearly being declared dead, this amazing dog has decided to survive.
These before and after photos hardly do Leo justice.Just imagine how cute he’ll be when he’s well enough to have a bath!
If you’d like to help Leo on his road to recovery, you can support him with a donation.