Terrified for her life,
When we moved into our previous home, we noticed that our neighbors kept their dog chained to a 3-foot chain. She couldn’t even move away from her own waste.
For the four years we lived there, my wife would sneak over at night to feed and give her water. She even bought a longer lead to give the dog more freedom, but their eldest son took it for his own dog, putting her back on the short chain.
One summer, we returned from a week-long vacation to find the poor dog nearly dead from starvation and dehydration in 90-degree heat. My wife spent days nursing her back to health, though I was certain she wouldn’t survive.
When we finally bought a new home and were preparing to leave, my wife insisted we couldn’t move without taking the dog with us. Determined, I went to the neighbors and convinced them to let us take her.
She came to us with severe mental and physical issues. She was riddled with heartworms, terrified of men, and for the first year, the only interaction she allowed me was taking her on walks. She wouldn’t even eat unless my wife was home.
By the second year, her trust in me grew. She became more comfortable and started to show her gentle nature. If I lay down on the floor or lawn, she’d come over and curl up beside me.
We gave her six wonderful years of love and care, but sadly, we lost her to lung cancer this past July. I’ve had many dogs throughout my life, but losing Mia has been the hardest. She was the sweetest, most loving dog I’ve ever known, without a mean bone in her body. She rarely barked except in play.
I miss her every day.