When a team of rescuers from the Humane Society of the United States raided a home in North Carolina last September, they discovered 150 dogs, cats, and goats kept in unforgivable conditions.
With help from the local police department, the hardworking team managed to shut down the puppy mill and rescued every single animal. But of all the animals they saved in the raid, one small poodle named B.B. caught their eye. B.B had been found inside a small, rusty cage in the basement of the home and it was obvious she had been forced to breed puppies repetitively.
“She was very tiny, and she looked like this helpless creature,” said Jessica Lauginiger, animal crimes manager at HSUS. “I put my hand up to the cage, and she’d come up and sniff a little bit. She was very hesitant for human attention, but she wanted it. I remember how tiny and frail she was in my hands. I pulled her close to my body, and she leaned into me.”
B.B. had most likely never left the basement in her life and had never seen the sky or felt grass in her life, so the sudden change was shocking for her. “B.B. was in a corner,” said Brenda Tortoreo, a former receptionist at Cabarrus Animal Hospital. “She looked pitiful. She was scared to death. She wouldn’t eat, she wouldn’t drink and I felt so bad for her. And I said, ‘That’s the one I’m going to take home.’”
Once B.B. adjusted to her new surroundings and started to gain her strength, Tortoreo took her home and slowly started to teach her what it meant to be a normal dog. “I put B.B. down on the floor, and she kept going in circles — not running, but walking. I guess that’s all she knew to do,” Tortoreo said. “She never knew what sun was. She didn’t know what grass was, and she was terrified of it.
Slowly B.B. started to get comfortable with her new family and is finally getting to live the life she deserves. “She runs around the house. She’s eating like crazy — she was originally about 3 and a half pounds, but I think she’s maybe about 10 pounds now. She loves the grass now, and she loves playing with the other dogs in the backyard,” Tortoreo said. “About three weeks ago she started licking me — she’d never done that before. She’s really come out of her shell. She’s my little princess.”
Can you believe how far this dog has come since rescuers freed her from her tiny cage? Let us know what you think in the comments below and please SHARE this with friends on Facebook.
[Featured image: Humane Society of the United States]
Rescuers Save Dog Kept Locked In A Basement Her Whole Life is an article from: LifeDaily