А dog lover in Costa Rica spotted a little dog, then named Leon, and rushed to give him food. The food she gave him was the first meal the little puppy got after weeks of starvation.
Mercedes Mora, who helps save animals with Charlie’s Angels Animal Rescue – Costa Rica (CAARCR) found the little dog locked up in a house, starved to nearly death.
Nobody knows how this little dog ended up this neglected. The investigators are going to find the people that locked the poor dog into the house. The rescuers wasted no time to help the dog, which was so weak it could barely lift the head up.
“When I saw this bundle of skin and bones lying in his cage I had to hold myself together and try not to break down. When you rescue animals, you see a lot and you have to deal with a lot of ugly situations. Leon, unfortunately, is one of the worst cases I have ever seen,” says Tania Cappelluti, founder of CAARC.
Cappelluti named the little dog Leon because she wanted to give him a name that resembles strength, like a lion.
“He was lying in his cage, with open wounds everywhere, skinny and weak. It took my breath away.”
Despite his condition, Leon showed strength to fight for its life and that gave everyone hope.
“When our vet put some food in his bowl, he lifted his head and got all excited! He ate everything and even licked the bowl clean!” Cappelluti said. “Leon wants to live. He is a fighter.”
But because Leon was discovered to be severely anemic, he needed help to gain his strength back, and that’s where the Rottweiler named Norman came in.
“We posted on several local Facebook dog lover groups in order to find a blood donor dog. It needed to be a healthy dog with more than 25 kilos [55 pounds. Two people got in touch, but they lived too far away and had no transport… Suddenly beautiful Norman came to my mind.”- Cappelluti said.
Several blood tests were made on Norman to make sure he was healthy enough and a good match to donate his blood to Leon, and everyone were so happy when they admitted that the tests were positive, and he’s a good and healthy match.
“Norman was super relaxed during the whole procedure,” Cappelluti said. “However, his dad almost passed out!
“Norman was the ideal donor! I stayed with him the whole time, but had to leave the room when I saw all the blood,” -Lobo told. “The vet’s assistant had to bring me a glass of water… Norman, however, was extremely brave [and] relaxed. [He] had a look in his eyes, as if he was thinking, ‘It’s all good, dude, don’t worry, let’s do this!”
Cappelluti brought some tokens of gratitude over to Norman and his family this week. He accepted them graciously, especially the pink tennis ball that he loved it so much. Norman’s family is really proud of Norman.
The veterinarian is really proud to say that Leon is slowly getting back on his feet. Once he’s strong enough, he’ll be up for adoption.
“I was surprised,” Lobo added. “Trying to clip Norman’s nails is not as easy as taking a half liter blood out of his veins! I am not sure if that’s even possible, but I think he knew what was going on.”
What a good boy.
