One morning in July, staff at Columbus County Animal Shelter in North Carolina looked out into the shelter yard — and discovered a dog they’d never seen before. The shelter yard was completely fenced in, which means that someone had picked up the dog, thrown him over the shelter fence, and left him there.
The poor dog, later named Sully, was in horrendous condition. He was severely underweight, heartworm positive, and anemic, and he was suffering from a tick disease and a skin infection. As the shelter was already so full of dogs with issues similar to Sully’s, they posted about him on Facebook in hopes that someone would see him and want to help. Luckily, it worked.
Anne Mellon, a foster mom with Hope Animal Rescue, follows a bunch of the shelters around North Carolina, and is always on the lookout for dogs in need that Hope Animal Rescue can take into their care. When she saw Sully, she could see he needed help as soon as possible.
“As soon as I saw the shelter staff post Sully’s pictures and videos, it broke my heart,” Mellon told The Dodo. “I knew right away we had to go get him.”
Mellon and her roommate agreed to foster Sully through Hope Animal Rescue and welcomed him into their home. It was clear that Sully had suffered severe neglect at the hands of humans, but despite everything he’d been through, he was so gentle with his new foster parents. He just seemed thrilled to finally be with people who truly cared about him.
“At first, he was grateful,” Mellon said. “He was sweet and gentle. He would just lay his head on your lap to be pet. His tail was always wagging. As he started to feel better his personality started to come out more and more. He would be goofy, hop around with excitement, play with his toys, and he has the funniest of howls.”
Each day he his health got a little bit better, until finally he was at a healthy weight and looked like a completely different dog.
Besides his health and regular vet visits, Sully’s foster parents also focused on teaching him how to be a dog and how to enjoy life with a family who loves him. They took him to the beach, out for ice cream and to hang out at breweries, and taught him the joys of sleeping in beds and on couches.
And of course the joy of going on car rides. They showered him with all of the love he’d never had before, and loved watching him come out of his shell more and more each day.
“Fostering him was amazing,” Mellon said. “Regardless of how he was treated in the past, he was so forgiving, and never held how he was previously treated against humans. He just wanted to be loved and love someone in return.”
Once he was completely healthy, Sully was put up for adoption — and before long found the perfect new mom, a woman named Melissa who had adopted from Hope Animal Rescue in the past. Sully is now thriving in his new home, and everyone who knows him is so thrilled he’ll never have to worry about being mistreated or being unloved ever again.
“He had a rough start to life, so now he likes to enjoy the simple things in life,” Mellon said. “Staying in a comfy bed all day, good meals, short walks, car rides, new toys and all the cuddles in the world.”