In most places in America, it would be quite shocking to see a starving stray dog on the brink of death.

However, this isn’t the case in other countries.

It can be quite common to see this in some countries that don’t have proper shelter systems and people who love and advocate for animals.

But David Foster was pretty shocked when he saw a stray dog on a deserted island off of the Amazon River in Brazil.

And that was for two reasons.

The first was because they were literally in the middle of the Amazon jungle.

“We were sailing and decided to stop at this beautiful beach,” Foster told The Dodo. “And then off in the distance I saw a dog. I thought, ‘Why is she out here? It seems a bit remote’ … We hadn’t seen any villages for quite some time.”

The second reason he was shocked was that the poor dog was emaciated.

“When she came running down the beach and all I could see was a skeletal form,” Foster told The Dodo.

The poor dog, who he named Negrita, was so happy to see people.

“She came running towards me,” Foster said. “And that’s when I noticed how bad off she was.”

Not only was Negrita skin and bones but she was covered in ticks and fleas.

Her ears and body had open bloody open wounds all over it. Even the vultures sensed she was close to death and started to circle in the sky above her.

“There was absolutely no way I was going to step away from this moment and not help this poor dog,” Foster said.

Foster estimated that the dog must have been abandoned and left there to die since it was unlikely she would have found her way to this remote island on her own.

“There was absolutely no way I was going to step away from this moment and not help this poor dog,” Foster said.

So, Foster fed Negrita some food and wanted to take her on the boat with him to safety.

“I knew that if we pulled up our anchor and left, it would mean her certain death,” he said. “She was not just a stray dog. She was sailed out and left there.”

But his fellow shipmates weren’t too keen on the idea of having such a scruffy passenger on board.

Though Foster brought Negrita on the ship, the passengers left her on the island and sailed off after Foster when to sleep.

He ended up waking up the ship’s captain and convinced him to turn the ship around to go back for Negrita.

Negrita seemed relieved at the fact that she was rescued.

As soon as they reached the nearest city, Foster found a vet for her.

It was there that her the vet treated her worms and pest infestation.

Thankfully she didn’t have any further serious injuries.

Despite the terrible shape she was in, Negrita’s loving personality shone through.

Foster knew that he wanted to bring Negrita home with him.

His cruise was actually apart of a business trip.

Foster operates PlayforStrays, a charity that donates toys to shelter dogs around the world.

So he was hoping that one of the rescue centers he visited could help him house Negrita until he could bring her back to Ireland.

Foster was able to find someone to foster Negrita.

But the cost to fly Negrita back to Ireland was expensive.

That’s when donations started pouring in from the PlayforStrays community and other rescue groups.

“People from the states, Australia and all over the world were donating toward getting her home,” Foster said. “Negrita was so special, and I think that everybody recognized that. They fully rallied around us.”

While Foster originally thought that Negrita would be home with him in Ireland within a few weeks, it took much longer because of international regulations for flying animals.

“What was a few weeks turned into five months,” Foster said. “She needed multiple medical tests, both to leave Brazil but also gain entry to the UK.”

But eventually Foster was reunited with his “Amazon girl and Negrita was more than happy to have a forever home.

Not only does she look healthy and like a completely different dog, but she also has lots of toys that she loves.

Every time Foster looks at Negrita and thinks about how skinny she used to be, he is also humbled by how far she has come and all the people who have helped her get to this point.

Learn more about Negrita’s story in the video below.

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Source: The Dodo

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By D.G. Sciortino

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D.G. is a contributing writer in Shareably. She's based in Connecticut and can be reached at [email protected].