It may be hard to watch this viral video that shows the harsh reality of animal neglect. Harold was skin and bone when he was found wandering the streets in North Oshawa in Ontario, Canada. But now is thriving and just like any other puppy—thanks to his foster carer.
Kayleigh McGovern, a volunteer and team member at Oshawa Animal Services, decided to look after the emaciated dog who was too weak to even walk back in July. She documented his progress and shared a slideshow of images on her TikTok page.
Kathy Pittman-Feltham, the shelter manager told Newsweek: “Harold quickly captured all of our hearts and we were rooting for him to get healthy and find his forever home.”
In the viral video that has 791,800 views, @kayleigh_mcgovern added on-screen text to explain each image. She stated he spent the first three days in bed and he didn’t have the strength to empty his bladder.
She wrote: “We shared many cuddles, watched lots of shows, and most importantly he got lots of rest.”
One image shows Harold’s skeletal body as the on-screen text explains: “This picture is still so jarring to look at. He was examined at the vet for possible causes of his emaciation. The vets concluded the only thing wrong with him was that he was essentially starving to death.”
After a few days of tender love and care, Harold started to feel stronger and became playful. Now four months on, he is just like any other puppy.
Pittman-Feltham told Newsweek: “Kayleigh helped nurse him back to health and he was then adopted by a member of the community who is a second-time adopter from us.
“He is doing phenomenal and is the perfect picture of health.”
Harold’s remarkable transformation has touched the hearts of thousands of TikTok users. But sadly, his situation wasn’t a rare case.
Each year 6.3 million pets are surrendered to U.S. shelters, which is an average of 17,260 a day, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
Around 920,000 surrendered animals are euthanized every year. Shelters are striving to minimize euthanasia rates by promoting adoption campaigns, spaying and neutering programs, and behavior rehabilitation.
Pittman-Feltham told Newsweek: “We see many sad cases come through our doors and the team is always excited to be a part of the next chapter in their story as most times we don’t have any information on their past.
“We are hoping Harold’s story shines a light on the many cases across the rescue world that need our help.
“Fostering saves lives and Harold is a perfect example of that!“
Thankfully, a puppy who had been brutally crated in a trash bag and left to die next to a riverbank was saved in time.
Every now and then there’s an animal ʀᴇsᴄᴜᴇ story that takes my ʙʀᴇᴀᴛʜ ᴀᴡᴀʏ. Oliviero’s is one such story.
Two women were strolling across the rivers of Messina in Southern Italy, when the ᴍᴜꜰꜰʟᴇᴅ ᴡʜɪᴍᴘᴇʀs of an animal caught their attention. They began to investigate the location of the noise and they discovered something in a garbage bag lying along the banks of the River Terme Vigliatore. What they found sʜᴏᴄᴋᴇᴅ and appalled them.
When the woman tore open the plastic bag, she found a dog in ᴘᴏᴏʀ condition. The scene was more ʜᴏʀʀɪꜰʏɪɴɢ when not far away, there was a ᴅᴇᴀᴅ calf lying Rᴏᴛᴛɪɴɢ nearby. The dog was ᴛʜʀᴏᴡɴ ᴀᴡᴀʏ ʟɪᴋᴇ ᴛʀᴀsʜ, ᴛɪᴇᴅ ᴜᴘ by electrical wires while vermin and ꜰʟʏ ʟᴀʀᴠᴀᴇ settled on the dog’s ʀᴀᴡ ᴍᴇᴀᴛ. He was so ᴇxʜᴀᴜsᴛᴇᴅ that he couldn’t stand up on his own.
The first thing the woman did was give the dog water to give him a boost. Then, they called the animal ʀᴇsᴄᴜᴇ staff to get help. Linda Li, an animal ʀᴇsᴄᴜᴇ volunteer, came and took the dog to the ᴠᴇᴛ. He seemed to know he was sᴀᴠᴇᴅ and it wagged its tail repeatedly.
They named the dog Oliviero. After ᴇxᴀᴍɪɴᴀᴛɪᴏɴ, they determined that he was ᴘᴀʀᴀʟʏᴢᴇᴅ in his hind legs due to an ᴜɴᴋɴᴏᴡɴ ɪɴᴊᴜʀʏ. Oliviero is cleaned of ticks and cleaned. He gets better every day thanks to the dedicated care of the ʀᴇsᴄᴜᴇ volunteers. Finally, Oliviero is adopted by a kind woman who will give him the love and family he deserves. Thank you to the ʟɪꜰᴇɢᴜᴀʀᴅs who helped change his life.
Leave a Reply