In early November, a frail dog lay down in the woods off a back road in Jasper County, Georgia. He gazed at the cars passing by as a cold rain fell. Scared and freezing, he tried to get up when he saw someone approach.
Jasper County Humane Society
It was Kristy Stephens, vice president of Whisker Warriors, whose daughter spotted the pup while out running errands and called her mom for help. The skinny dog didn’t have the energy to run away, so he sat there, shivering.
“I offered him some food,” Stephens told The Dodo. “After a few hesitant moments, he slowly came toward it. Once he was close enough, I slipped a leash on him to make sure he was safe.”
Jasper County Humane Society
Stephens tried to lead the dog to her car, but he wouldn’t budge. He turned and tried to go further back into the woods.
Worried about the dog’s fragile condition, Stephens sent her daughter home for some blankets while she tried to earn the pup’s trust.
“I sat with [him], talking to him and giving him time to trust me,” she said. “Little by little, he let me get closer until I could place my hands on him and hold him to keep him warm.”
Jasper County Humane Society
The plan had been to crate the dog and deliver him to Tracy Campbell, the director of Jasper County Humane Society. But once they had the dog in Stephens’ car wrapped in a blanket, they changed course.
“We saw how urgent his condition was,” Stephens said. “We made the decision to skip the crate and get him to the vet as quickly as possible.”
They arrived not a moment too soon. The dog, later named Rhodey, had a body temperature of 95 degrees Fahrenheit; dogs should fall somewhere between 101 and 102 degrees Fahrenheit.
The vet said another hour out in the cold would have been fatal.
Jasper County Humane Society
“They slowly warmed his temp up, ran bloodwork … and gave him fluids,” Campbell told The Dodo.
Over the next few days, Stephens and Campbell learned more about sweet Rhodey, who was still shy and cautious in his new surroundings.
The vet determined he was about a year old and weighed just 41 pounds, about half of what the vet guessed he should weigh based on his age and size. He tested positive for anemia and heartworm, but was too weak to begin treatment.
Rhodey slowly warmed to the new people in his life. Though shy around other dogs, he tolerated some new friends and enjoyed walks with Stephens. He started gaining weight.
Jasper County Humane Society
A few weeks after Rhodey’s rescue, Campbell got a call from a retiree who had recently lost her own dog.
“She swore she would never go through heartache again,” Campbell said. But when the retiree saw a news alert about Rhodey, the sad look in his eyes took her breath away.
She began fostering Rhodey on November 23.
Jasper County Humane Society
“When I delivered him [to his foster], I swear he walked into that house like he belonged there,” Campbell said. “He claimed it! Right from the beginning.”
For the next month or so, Rhodey will live with his foster mom as he recovers. He’s emphatically embracing life as an indoor pet with someone who loves him.
Jasper County Humane Society
“I don’t see how this is not going to be a foster fail,” Campbell said.
Stephens is in awe of the dog Rhodey is becoming. She estimated he lived outside for weeks based on the condition she found him in.
“Rhodey truly fought to survive,” she said.