Elvis spent the entirety of his 19 years on Earth bound to the confines of a chain. Within his small bubble of existence were a dirty water bucket, a small food pan, and a claustrophobic wooden doghouse, into which he often retreated. The poor pup was in awful shape.

That was until he was rescued and finally experienced freedom, friends, and love in his last few months of life.

The poor pup was in terrible condition and had a thick, heavy collar that hung loosely from his gaunt body. Elvis looked up at his rescuers with large, sad eyes while tucking his head down. He appeared defeated and like his spirit was completely broken.

His body was covered in flies and bleeding bites. The flies were literally eating him alive. He was so sick that every one of his ribs were visible and threatening to poke through his skin.

After 19 long years of only being able to walk to the end of the chain, he was hesitant to venture outside of the tiny bubble he’d existed within for the entirety of his life. Despite having a hard time standing up on his own and having hardly any energy, he attempted to drag himself back to his tiny dog house.

But his heroic rescuers took him away from his horrific living conditions and brought Elvis to a shelter where he was looked over by a vet and treated to a hearty meal.

“He don’t know how to walk straight. We will teach him. We will try to bring him back to life at 19 years old,” explained Takis, shelter owner, and Elvis’s rescuer.

Slowly but surely, Elvis‘s hind legs rose higher, and he started to walk better and better. It warmed everyone’s hearts to see him making friends with the other dogs. Every dog and every human adored Elvis.

But sadly, Elvis was diagnosed with intestinal cancer and a problem with his heart. While he was immediately started on treatment, his condition was irreversible.

It wasn’t very long before his intestinal cancer worsened, and it was clear that he was extremely uncomfortable. So Elvis’ rescuers decided to do what was best and make the difficult decision to spare him from any more agony.

While it wasn’t for very long, Elvis lived his last few months experiencing freedom, friendship, and knowing what it feels like to be truly loved.

You can watch a heartwarming, yet heartbreaking tribute video to Elvis below.