Last year AT&T technician David Baxter was out on what should have been a routine call when he found a severely neglected dog. She was malnourished to the point of death and her limbs were hogtied with twine.
“It was very sad to see a dog in that kind of condition,” Baxter says.
She had been tossed into an enclosure that was rarely visited—one every couple of months as the most. The dog had freed herself from the blanket put over her head and the rope that had bound her front feet, but her back remained tightly tied, the ropes digging into her flesh.
Understandably, she was scared of Baxter at first, shaking and not willing to come close. However, he earned her trust by offering her water in bucket. She let him pet her then, as well as cut the twine off her hind legs and neck. Then, he fed her his lunch, a ham and turkey sandwich and called animal control.
Animal control got in touch with Zack Skow, founder of Marley’s Mutts rescue group, whom they sent her pictures and told him her story. This is exactly the type of case the group takes in – they specialize in abandoned and abused dog, as well as dogs slated for euthanasia at the local shelter.
“She was not an unusual rescue for us. We are accustomed to all manners of horrific rescue scenarios involving baffling abuse,” Skow told Huffington Post.
They took her in, named her Dora and got her the vet treatment she needed. Due to her severe neglect, she was not a candidate for foster case, so she stayed with Skow.
In just a few months, the change was incredible. Dora was a new dog.
But even more amazing – her rescuer got the chance to see her again. A true fairytale ending, Baxter was sent out on a call to Skow’s house.
“She looked great,” Baxter told Huffington Post. “It was really good to see her. To know she’s going to be OK.”
Even better, the AT&T newsletter highlighted Dora’s story and Kevin P. Smith, senior technology project manager in the Bay area, read it and immediately filled out an application to adopt Dora.
The very next day, he, his wife Karen and their other rescue Dante, drove to get Dora.
It takes a lot of money for these happily ever afters…but the pictures are proof it is all worth it.
