Senior dog Holden had no enthusiasm for life when he arrived at a local animal shelter in Georgia. He was scared, sad, and basically defeated.
And if you heard his story you’ll understand why.
But thanks to some loving people at Releash Atlanta, Holden is now a happy dog who loves to wag his tail. They were able to transform the mopey dog into one that loves to jump up and give kisses.
Police seized Holden during a drug raid on the house where he lived. They then brought him to the shelter as a severely neglected dog.
Unfortunately, the shelter was too crowded and had no space for Holden.
This meant that he had to sit in the intake area wrapped in a blanket. So, the shelter staff put out a call on Facebook asking if someone could take Holden in.
At this point, Holden was nervous, shaky, skinny, and starved. The sad senior pup would gulp up any food he could find, even cat food.
Holden weighed a mere 25 pounds which put him at about 15 pounds less than he should have weighed.
But they soon found out that Holden was even skinnier than that since he was facing a life-threatening illness.
An X-ray showed that Holden had a 7-pound tumor in his body.
This made it hard for the poor dog to eat which is why he was so skinny.
Even though he was scared and very sick, Holden was still so grateful for the kindness he was being shown. He would wag his tail wildly at the slightest gesture of affection that he would receive.
I mean, this dog had just gotten out of surgery to remove his tumor and was too woozy to turn around in his kennel.
But he still immediately started wagging away when he heard the sound of a friendly voice.
The Dodo says that Holden’s positive personality is what helped him to heal and adjust so quickly after his surgery. Holden was able to leave the overcrowded shelter when Releash Atlanta came to pick him up.
Releash Atlanta volunteer Ashley saw that Holden was a little uneasy at first so she decided to give him some cuddles and took a few selfies so he would feel secure in the car ride to his foster home.
Ashley brought Holden to meet his new foster mom Melissa Lentz.
She specializes in fostering dogs who are scared and made sure that Holden felt safe and welcome in his new foster home. Holden got to make friends with Lentz’s daughter and the nine other dogs who were living at the house at the time.
Since then, Holden’s entire demeanor has changed. He went from being hopeless to completely hopeful.
He’s also eating well now and getting healthy.
“I feed him ALL the time,” Lentz said. “He may be old and he may or may not have cancer (biopsy not back yet), but someone is going to be VERY lucky to have this dog.”
Thankfully, Holden’s preliminary tests showed that his tumor was likely non-cancerous.
For now, Holden will stay with Lentz until he gets neutered, fatter, and has his teeth taken care of.
After that, he will find a forever home where he can be loved and wag his tail happily for the rest of his days. But until then, this guy has come a long way and we’re very proud of his amazing transformation.
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
