Struggling to survive on the streets of Dallas, Texas, the situation looked dire for this eight-month-old mastiff puppy. Riddled with parasites, mange, severely emaciated, and suffering from anemia, Brady was rescued by a shelter in Dallas, but it would definitely take more than this to save his life.
Poor Brady was so weak in fact, that he couldn’t even lift his head, said Jim Wenger, president of DFW Rescue Me told WFAA8 ABC. He was literally on death’s doorstep.
“If he had been out on the streets another 12 hours, he wouldn’t be alive,” Wenger said.
This Mastiff Puppy Needed A Hero
So the shelter alerted Wenger and his non-profit volunteer organization, that has earned a reputation for rehabilitating severely abused and neglected dogs. And dogs who wind up here earn the name “Justice dogs,” obviously for good reasons. When poor Brady arrived, he should have weighed 60 pounds, Wenger said. Instead, he weighed a shocking 20 pounds.
If Brady was to survive, drastic measures were needed. Image by WFAA8 ABC video
And that’s just awful. No dog should ever have to suffer as this poor mastiff has. He was little more than a skeleton.
“His worms had worms,” Denger said.
He was in such bad shape that the veterinarian who examined him found he would need a blood transfusion in order to survive. So Wenger called his friend Dennis Moore, who volunteers at DFW, and asked if his dog Rose could help.
Brady needed a blood transfusion. Would Rose help? Screenshot by WFAA8 ABC video
“What better for a justice dog to save another justice dog,” Wenger said. “So that’s where Rose came into the picture.”
So Moore brought Rose to visit Brady at the shelter and it seemed like she knew what she needed to do. She watched him for a minute or two.
“It’s like she felt sorry for him,” Moore said.
So she donated blood for two days in a row, and that made all the difference in the world.
“They said literally if she hadn’t given blood that day he wouldn’t have made it through the night,” Wenger said.
The two dogs formed a tight bond
Rose has been down this sad path herself. DFW saved her life two years earlier when she was injured and sick, TheAnimalRescueSite reports. The eight-year-old pit bull found a home with Moore, who was now also fostering Brady. As the photo below shows, this poor girl was really in a bad way.
Like Brady, poor Rose was injured and sick when she was taken in. Screenshot by WFAA8 ABC video
Perhaps the two dogs share sad memories of their lives on the street. They’ve formed a tight bond and are definitely close friends. And Rose is very protective with Brady, Moore says.
“I think Rose knows exactly what she’s done because she still acts like that, like a mother to him.”
Brady and Rose are best friends. Screenshot by WFAA8 ABC video
And things are definitely looking up for Brady. He’s gained 30 pounds since his rescue and Moore plans to continue fostering him so that these two delightful dogs can spend their days together playing in the sun. Where mastiff puppy’s future once looked very bleak, it is now full of hope. And hopefully many happy, healthy years to feel the grass under his feet and play with other dogs.
What a beautiful story.
Watch the story unfold in the video below.
Featured image by WFAA8 ABC video
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