#20. On The Brink Of Death
Sadly, hundreds of thousands of animals are abandoned each year, forced to look after themselves under extremely harsh conditions. Such was the case of this little puppy, who lived in a small rural village in the West African country of Liberia.
This little pup was malnourished and his health was poor. However, none of the villagers seemed to be willing to take him in. But just when he was on the brink of death, a young woman appeared in his life. Keep on reading this story, it will melt your heart!
#19. Animal Rights Advocates
Jenny Desmond, the woman who gave the puppy a hand, had fought for animal rights since she was a little girl. In fact, she and her husband, Jimmy, were co-founders of the Liberia Chimpanzee Rescue and Protection (LCRP) unit in West Africa.
Even though the LCRP focuses mainly on the rehabilitation of orphaned chimpanzees rescued from poaching and illegal trade, the organization does not exclude any species from their love and care. So when Jenny and her husband were driving along this village and came across the emaciated puppy in desperate need of help, they did not doubt it for a second.
#18. Deplorable State
Jenny and Jim quickly got out of the car and were left speechless when they saw the dog’s deplorable state. He was full of worms and had picked up a fever, not to mention his malnourishment and his skin and eye infections. Poor thing!
Jenny wanted to take the puppy with her back to the LCRP facilities. Even though their NGO dealt with chimpanzees, she figured that some of their vets could at least assist the dog. However, it happens to be that the villagers were not keen on the idea of them rescuing the puppy, and here’s why.
#17. Heated Argument
As crazy as it sounds, Jenny had to face opposition when she attempted to rescue the abandoned puppy. The villagers demanded money in retribution if she were to take the puppy with her. But Jenny utterly refused to do so, as it was clear that no-one even cared for the poor creature.
Jenny was furious at the fact that they didn’t let her take the puppy with her. “You see he’s being eaten alive. You want me to leave him here and he’s gonna die?“, Jenny screamed out. Would this argument ever come to an end? Click next to find out!
#16. They Came To An Agreement
Jenny realized that she had to take a deep breath and calm down, since picking up a fight would be of no use. After all, maybe some of the people did care for him. Therefore, she asked the villagers if she could at least take the puppy with her to assist him. “If the dog becomes better, do you want me to bring the dog back to you?”, she asked.
Luckily, the villagers agreed to Jenny’s proposal. But as they drove away, she confessed to his husband: “I’m not bringing him back. I’m just saying that“. After all, she was sure that the puppy would never have a healthy life stranded in that village.
#15. Just In Time
Even though she lied to the villagers, there is no doubt that Jenny made a nice and generous act. But it’s also worth mentioning that her help came just in time because had she not come to the rescue, the dog would have died in no longer than two days.
As they headed towards the organization’s facilities, they realized that the dog was also missing many patches of fur and that his skin was covered in dirt and sores. It was touch and go whether he would survive, but they weren’t gonna give up.
#14. In Good Hands
As soon as they reached the sanctuary, Jenny gave the puppy the bath he so much needed. With the help of one of his workmates, she washed the dirt out of the pooch’s fur while he hopelessly sat beneath the water, trembling from the nerves.
This wasn’t the first time Jenny rescued an animal, so she knew the steps she had to take. As her colleague said, “She’s rescued a lot. She rescued chickens, she rescued grasshoppers, owls… she’s rescued a lot of things“. The puppy was finally in good hands!
#13. Strong Recovery
Jenny and Jim decided to name the little pooch Snafu. Cute little Snafu was shy from the moment he first arrived at the Rescue Center, and it was clear he had suffered a lot and little to no strength to carry on.
But believe it or not, only in a matter of days, Sanfu made an amazing recovery. With proper food, medical treatment, and above all love, he would soon become as healthy as ever. Let’s see how his treatment was like.
#12. Initiating The Therapy
From his first day in the sanctuary, Snafu began receiving therapy to recover from his skin and eye infections as well as to gain some weight. Jenny’s husband, Jimmy, was a wildlife veterinarian who specialized in emerging diseases, so he knew just what to do.
Jimmy was thus in charge of administering the dog’s therapy, which his body would absorb. The puppy had severe skin infections and he would have probably died had he not been saved on time.
#11. Putting On Weight
But apart from his therapy, Snafu was put on a diet in order to gradually recover his weight. He was so malnourished that he began digesting his own muscles. Thus, Jenny and Jim gave him plenty of food and water for him to recover his body mass.
It was clear that he had been deprived of proper food while fending for himself in the village. Whenever he was given food and water, he would finish it in a matter of seconds and stand next to it for a very long time.
#10. Growing Back His Fur
What is more, by the fifth day of his therapy, Snafu’s hair began to grow back. As Jenny recalls, the day they found him in the village, he was in such a bad state that “He didn’t even look like he had fur or hair“.
Jenny will never forget how terrible Snafu’s infection was when he first saw him. “There used to be big chunks of skin [falling out]and there’s not that much of it anymore“, she recalls. In spite of this, he showed signs of improvement after the first week.
#9. Playful Little Pooch
Both Jenny and Jimmy had plenty of experience dealing with abandoned animals. They claim that it’s normal for rescued animals to start off with a successful recovery, but it’s not after the first month that they begin to adapt to their new home.
Just like they had predicted, after Snafu’s first month in the sanctuary, his spirit was altered. Not only had he regained most of his weight, but he started growing accustomed to his new house and began running around playfully all day.
#8. The Cone Of Shame
However, just as he became more playful, the Desmonds had to take greater care of his therapy. The thing was that Snafu still recovering from the wounds in his skin, which were trickling with puss, and even though this meant it was healing, Snafu began biting and scratching it.
As a result, Jenny and Jimmy were left with no choice but to make Snafu carry a cone around his head. Sure, he found it annoying at first, but it wasn’t such a big deal. After all, health comes first!
But wait a moment… Didn’t we say that Snafu was now living in a chimp sanctuary? What about the chimps?
#7. Unexpected Bonds
Not only was Snafu more playful than before, but he also made himself some very unexpected friends! Not only did he play and share his food with the older dogs, but he also grew fond of the chimpanzees as well!
In fact, when Snafu had just arrived at the shelter, the chimpanzees loved to look after him and sometimes they even carried him up and down the stairs. Don’t believe me? Then look at the picture above!
#6. Full-Sized Pooch
As time went by, not only did Snafu begin to heal under Jenny and Jimmy’s care, but he also began to grow bigger and bigger! In a matter of months, he had become a full-sized dog, and grew even bigger than some of the baby chimps!
What is more, Snafu grew very fond of the chimps and just loved to play around with them. But this doesn’t end here, there’s even more to this pooch’s touching story!
#5. Snafu’s Future
If Snafu managed to recover successfully, it was all thanks to Jenny and Jimmy’s admirable sacrifice and dedication. After his first year in the sanctuary, he looked like a completely different dog! Take a look at the picture below and don’t tell me he isn’t the cutest!
However, the Desmonds realized that they couldn’t keep looking after Snafu any longer. The truth was that running the chimp sanctuary and looking after the rescued primates was very demanding, especially considering that new animals constantly arrived at their facilities in need of assistance. What would they do?
#4. Looking For A New Home
So even though Jenny and his husband never discriminated against any sick or wounded animals and always opened their doors to other species other than chimps, they knew they had to prioritize the chimps. Besides, running the LCRP involved traveling a lot, so they didn’t want Snafu to feel lonely either.
Obviously, both of them wanted Snafu to have a loving family and have the life he deserved. With that aim in mind, they began looking through different options. Hopefully, someone would offer to take him in.
#3. Spreading The Word
At first, the Desmonds spread the word among all their friends, but nobody was willing to take in the adorable pooch. They also contacted other rescue centers and asked them to help spread the word as well.
The truth was that it was not so common for people in Liberia to keep dogs as pets, at least not as much as in other Western countries. But fortunately, one day, Jenny came up with a brilliant idea.
#2. Off To Colorado!
Jenny began to take other options into consideration, and that’s when she thought about the idea of sending Snafu to the US. She knew that her sister’s family, who were based in Colorado, were hoping to adopt a stray dog and Jenny realized this was her chance.
Luckily for Snafu, Jenny’s sister loved the idea, and she fell in love with the little pooch when she saw some of his pictures and videos, especially the ones in which he was being hugged by the chimps! “He’s moving to Colorado to live with my nieces and he’s gonna have a great, wonderful life“, Jenny said.
#1. Happy Ending
Snafu came to love his family at the Liberia Chimpanzee Rescue and Protection center, but now it was time for him to move on. Luckily, he quickly adapted to his new life in Colorado and got along great with Jenny’s sisters and nieces.
Snafu is now thriving with joy, as he has found a family that loves him just as much as his rescuers. If there’s a lesson to be learned from this story, it’s that there are few things as noble as adopting an abandoned dog and giving him the love any animal deserves!