Thanks to a Facebook post, an abused dog was rescued from an abandoned building recently, and he’s getting a second chance at life.
Houston news outlet KHOU11 reported that the dog, now lovingly called Gus, had been seen ambling through the bustling city around the 12000 block of MLK Blvd. for the past 12 months in his horrendous condition, and no one did a thing.
Thankfully avid dog-rescuer, Laura Jean, posted photos she’d snapped with her phone of the tortured canine wandering the streets to Facebook.
The compassionate dog-lover was afraid that if she pursued Gus any further, she would end up pushing him into traffic, and so she sought the help of the FB community.
“SOS!!! Dead dog walking he wouldn’t come to me and I was only pushing him into traffic. Thanks to all the cars who didn’t stop who could’ve helped me get him to safety.”
She goes on to implore people to donate both their time and money to bring Gus to safety and get him the medical attention he needs.
“He was last seen going into an apartment complex and I gave my info to some residents. One said he is usually around but in the back. I was unable to find him. If anyone can dedicate some time to look for him, please let me know. This dog will need foster, rescue and lots of pledges if he is found again. Southeast Houston – 77048”
Thankfully, turning to social media to locate this brave dog worked faster than anyone could have imagined.
Within just hours of Laura Jean’s post, animal rescue team Houston K-911 Rescue went to the area indicated in the post to engage in a search for the mangled dog.
At first, the rescue team’s Rob Acuña and his partner Tom didn’t think their search would turn anything up on the first day, and that it could take some seriously precious time to locate Gus.
Fortunately, that wasn’t the case… Gus was coming to them. K-911 describes how they almost missed the abused dog among the abandoned buildings.
“We were about to walk right past it, then noticed the opening and looked inside with a flashlight. After a few seconds, we commented about how badly it reeked in there. We were about to go in to look in a room that’s inside when the dog came strolling out.”
Once Gus came into the rescuer’s care, they were able to get a closer look at his injuries.
Upon closer inspection, not only was Gus covered in filth and nearly starved, but a shoelace had been tied so tightly around his neck that it had caused severe wounds and damage to his trachea.
The shoelace had become embedded into the skin around his throat, causing damage to his organs.
Not only that, after receiving X-rays it became clear that Gus had been shot at least 25 times with a pellet gun and still had bullets lodged in his body.
Houston’s rescue team wasn’t about to let this dog suffer another minute of trauma.
After it became apparent just how bad the scarring on Gus’s neck was, K-911 stepped forward with generous donations to get Gus the medical attention he needed.
On Friday, August 31st, the rescue team sent Gus to a soft-tissue specialist located at Texas A&M’s small animal hospital to undergo surgical removal of the scarred tissue, and the difference is astounding.
Gus’s head shrank back to a near normal size after removing the scarring.
He was successfully released from surgery and got to go home with his new foster mom, Marina Harrison, who works at the same veterinary hospital where Gus received his surgery.
She has volunteered to carefully tend to his post-op care, both now and in the future, as his laser treatments will be ongoing.
Needless to say, Gus’s quality of life has tremendously improved since he was rescued from the streets.
K-911 has continued to offer financial support for all of his needs with the donations from Gus’s followers.
Recently he had a special visit from Laura Jean, the woman who shared his story, and Tom Heller, one of the men who aided in Gus’s rescue and changed his life fur-ever.
In the video, it’s apparent that this dog is full of love and gratitude to the angels that refused to let him suffer anymore.
If you would like to offer your support to the K-911 Rescue team, go here. You can also get updates on Gus and read the full details of his story at his very own Facebook page, Gus’ Journey.
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