Every animal lover wishes that all our furry friends could lead happy, healthy lives, being loved, cherished, and cared for until their final days. Sadly, it just doesn’t work out that way. Countless dogs, and other animals, are abandoned, neglected, and left to live on the streets each and every day. The stories of many of these unfortunate pups can be so sad, but luckily, plenty of them have happy endings!
Little Sanford was called ‘broken’ by rescue center workers.
He’d been hit by a car and couldn’t walk. Animal control offices took him to a local shelter, but he didn’t actually get any medical care while he was there as the shelter was low on funds and resources.
Fortunately, a local animal lover and volunteer at Dallas DogRRR rescue and rehab center saw Sanford and was determined to help him, any way she could.
“He was physically broken … and when the volunteer went to see him, he didn’t really make any effort to come and say hello,” explained Kerry Anechiarico, Executive Director at Dallas DogRRR, in an interview with The Dodo. She, and other shelter workers, worried that Sanford had “given up” on life.
Fortunately, Sanford was able to get the medical care he needed and started to walk again. Then, just a few weeks after his treatment, the best news of all came: he was going into foster care with a wonderful, dog-loving lady named Karen Velazquez.
Velazquez has fostered over 50 dogs in her time but says she’s never had one quite like Sanford! As soon as he realized he was leaving the shelter cages and going home with someone new, he perked right up and started grinning widely.
Velazquez says she’s never known a human or animal have the same happy expression as Sanford.
He never stops smiling! It’s a huge turnaround from those early days when he was barely moving and showing no signs of interest or affection in anyone or anything. Velazquez is thrilled to see how happy her boy is.
He has been all smiles… I think the minute he came to my home, he realized he was in a safe place.
Each day, Sanford lives the high life. He gets to hang out with Velazquez’s other dogs, enjoys home-made food all the time, and goes on lots of fun walks too.
He’s happy and loved, but he’s still just in foster care for now and is waiting for his ‘forever family’ to come and meet him.
Velazquez says that Sanford would be a perfect family dog with his friendly attitude and love of affection.
At 10 years old, he’s not the youngest dog around, but he’s still quite energetic and loves to play and walk. He gets on great with kids and other dogs too and is always happy to meet new people. If you think you or someone you know would be the perfect match for Sanford, you can get in touch with Dallas DogRRR.
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