BREINIGSVILLE, Pa. — While we may never know the pain or the struggles of a rescue dog, they are not broken, they just may need more time to trust. But the love they end up giving in return is unlike no other.
The journey of Rhea — now known as Aika — was not an easy one.
Abandoned in a high kill shelter while giving birth has to be one of the saddest things we have ever seen.
Terrified and bleeding while trying to defend her newborn pups was a sight we certainly won’t soon forget. It had been a tough road for her, and she lost two pups before we saved her and then lost another the first night. She also battled a severe upper respiratory infection.
All the while she was a fantastic mother.
Day by day she learned to trust us, but saying that the first few weeks was rough is an understatement. She did eventually begin to understand that we were taking care of her and her babies.
Soon, she let more people into her circle and eventually she had a whole crew of volunteers who loved her. And she definitely loved all of us.
She learned to play and her body began to recover and heal. Many years of overbreeding had done a number on her poor body, she started to gain the weight she needed, and after one month she finally decided to venture outside.
Her pups were amazing and once weaned, they all went to wonderful homes.
Rhea was sad, so she became our office dog and she was the perfect office companion. At night before our dog manager went home, she would tuck Rhea under a blanket on the couch and tell her that her day would come!!
And it did: our sweet girl was adopted by the most wonderful family who saw the potential in this sometimes stubborn, but mostly sweet girl. We receive many updates on her, and they are giving her the life she always deserved.
These are the moments in rescue that keep us going ❤️