It may be hard to watch this viral video that shows the harsh reality of animal neglect. Harold was skin and bone when he was found wandering the streets in North Oshawa in Ontario, Canada. But now is thriving and just like any other puppy—thanks to his foster carer.
Kayleigh McGovern, a volunteer and team member at Oshawa Animal Services, decided to look after the emaciated dog who was too weak to even walk back in July. She documented his progress and shared a slideshow of images on her TikTok page.
Kathy Pittman-Feltham, the shelter manager told Newsweek: “Harold quickly captured all of our hearts and we were rooting for him to get healthy and find his forever home.”
In the viral video that has 791,800 views, @kayleigh_mcgovern added on-screen text to explain each image. She stated he spent the first three days in bed and he didn’t have the strength to empty his bladder.
She wrote: “We shared many cuddles, watched lots of shows, and most importantly he got lots of rest.”
One image shows Harold’s skeletal body as the on-screen text explains: “This picture is still so jarring to look at. He was examined at the vet for possible causes of his emaciation. The vets concluded the only thing wrong with him was that he was essentially starving to death.”
After a few days of tender love and care, Harold started to feel stronger and became playful. Now four months on, he is just like any other puppy.
Pittman-Feltham told Newsweek: “Kayleigh helped nurse him back to health and he was then adopted by a member of the community who is a second-time adopter from us.
“He is doing phenomenal and is the perfect picture of health.”
Harold’s remarkable transformation has touched the hearts of thousands of TikTok users. But sadly, his situation wasn’t a rare case.
Each year 6.3 million pets are surrendered to U.S. shelters, which is an average of 17,260 a day, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
Around 920,000 surrendered animals are euthanized every year. Shelters are striving to minimize euthanasia rates by promoting adoption campaigns, spaying and neutering programs, and behavior rehabilitation.
Pittman-Feltham told Newsweek: “We see many sad cases come through our doors and the team is always excited to be a part of the next chapter in their story as most times we don’t have any information on their past.
“We are hoping Harold’s story shines a light on the many cases across the rescue world that need our help.
“Fostering saves lives and Harold is a perfect example of that!“
In a touching rescue tale, people respond quickly and compassionately to free a dog that is stuck in an underground conduit after hearing sounds and crying from a drain.
Sometimes you have to pay attention to what’s going on around you. You might see something strange or out of place that could end up changing your life. For these workers at Boveney Lock in Dorney, Buckinghamshire, this is the case.
They were hired because the owner of a lost dog thought it was underground. Everyone thought the owner was crazy, because how does a dog get under the ground?
But imagine that you are walking through a parking lot and you hear a strange sound coming from the ground. What would you do in the end if you couldn’t find your dog?
This group of people decided to start digging. They tore up all the concrete and dirt until they reached the pipe underground.
When they got to the pipe, they had to cut a hole to find out what was making the noise.
When the worker got inside, he found something he had never thought was possible.
Deep inside the underground pipe, a tiny Jack Russell Terrier was stuck and scared. Even more amazing is the fact that the dog was stuck in the pipe for more than 4 days.
What an amazing and brave story about getting this dog out of a pipe. I didn’t think they’d find a living animal in there, but I’m so happy this animal rescue turned out well.
It’s been shown over and over again that dogs are a man’s best friend.
If I heard a dog in this area, I would do everything possible to remove it. I am certain that the owner will never again allow her puppy to escape her sight.
They must determine how he entered and seal off the entrance to prevent this from happening again.
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