A dog that 1 Dog found with devastating injuries may have had a terrible start in life, but his Christmases all came at once when Rudi (AKA Percy) finally found a wonderful forever home.
Found on the streets
The 1 Dog At A Time Rescue team in Romania found a dog walking the streets. Blind in one eye and with precious little sight in the other and dragging his broken leg behind him, Rudi was found on the street in a pitiful condition with open wounds all over his body. Our vet told us that his badly broken leg must have been like that for some time, and it was evident to everyone that this gentle soul had been used as a bait dog.
Like all our street dogs, he couldnāt explain about the horrors heād experienced, but the evidence was there for everyone to see; his fear of other dogs and the horrific injuries told their own story.
Call out on Facebook
We put a call out on Facebook for very special adopters who could help him to recover from his unspeakable injuries, but the months slipped by, and no one came forward. Rudi watched as other dogs arrived at Happy Tails and then went off to their new homes. He wasnāt managing at all well in the kennels and to make matters worse, his battle-worn eyes meant that he was struggling to see.
We might not have had an adopter for Rudi yet, but at least we could do something about his eyes, so we put out a call on Facebook for donations for specialist eye treatment. We should have known that our wonderful supporters would come up trumps and true to form they raised an incredible Ā£821 to help make Rudi see again. But what Rudi wanted most of all was someone to love him.
Ā£821 was raised by our wonderful supporters to help Rudi see again
One Special Family for One Special Dog
It was difficult to tell with his damaged teeth, but we thought Rudi was aged somewhere between 5 ā 7 years old, so no spring chicken. It wasnāt just his body that was damaged; there were other unseen, psychological scars that might take even longer to heal.
But it only takes a moment to change a dogās life and Rudiās moment came when Kelsey and her mum Lou saw him at Happy Tails.
āWe saw his video on Facebook and immediately fell in love with Rudi and just had to help him,ā explains Kelsey. āEverything happened quite fast after that. Pippa did our home visit to check that we would be offering him the best home possible and then a few weeks later Rudi arrived in the UK.ā
āI burst into tears when I first saw him,ā continues Kelsey. āFrom the moment he arrived, we could see that this poor dog was going to need all our support and love to get over what heād been through. First of all, he wouldnāt come inside. Maybe it was because he couldnāt see the brown carpet. Who knows, but he was very shaken and disorientated. For the first few days, clearly in distress, he lay on his belly panting whilst we sat with him quietly giving him space to sort himself out as ultimately he did.ā
Rudi in his new home
Little steps
Itās been a succession of little steps combined with lots of love from his wonderful adopters, but today, Rudiās life couldnāt be much better. Heās settled, happy and clearly loves his new home.
But what about his adopters, how has life been with Rudi and do they have any regrets about helping such as damaged dog?
āWe couldnāt imagine our lives without Rudi,ā says Kelsey. Heās completely changed our lives.
āWe keep him on the lead as he has no road sense and chases bikes, cars etc.ā continues Kelsey. āHeās sometimes frightened of other dogs but is starting to overcome this and even has a girlfriend. He hardly limps at all now, and he seems to be managing well despite his poor sight and missing teeth. He seemed to take doggy daycare in his stride and passes every test with flying colours. Heās incredible. We couldnāt imagine being without Rudi. Heās completely changed our lives.ā
Just a few reasons why they love Rudi by his adopters, Kelsey and Lou.
In fact, as you can see from Kelseyās stories about her and her motherās life with Rudi, it would be difficult to imagine a better life for Rudi, the former bait dog.
He Loves rolling on his back ā on the grass mostly.
Heās happiest when heās going out for a walk and if he had his way weād be out all day long.
He likes looking at the sea and dunking himself in it when weāre on the beach.
His favourite way to play is gently chewing on my hands and play wrestling with me. He also makes lots of funny noises whilst weāre playing. We jokingly call him āChewbaccaā because it sort of sounds like how he sounds. He likes playing tug of war.
Heās scared of thunder and not that mad on fireworks. We always make a fort for him if itās thundering and give him Valerian drops.
If you would like more information on how to help your dogs deal with thunder or fireworks (loud bangs) then have a look at our article by clicking here.
He chases squirrels and anything with fast-moving wheels which is why the lead is a must.
He has a piece of hair on his head which you can spike up into a mini Mohican which we sometimes do. Iām sure it annoys him though. Aha! But we think itās hilarious.
We couldnāt imagine being without Rudi. Our lives are 110% and more fulfilled. Heās just perfect.
If you have what it takes to transform a Romanian dogās life, then please check out the dogs available on our website and get in touch.Ā As usual, weāre full to bursting at Happy Tails so you wonāt just be saving 1 dog, youāll be freeing up space for other desperate dogs waiting to have their lives transformed.
Please click here to contact us if you would like more information on 1 Dog At A Time Rescue UK.
