Once-Mistreated Rescue Dog Is Unrecognizable After Transformation to Perfect Health
Published Jan. 3 2024, 2:22 p.m. ET
It’s often said that when you adopt a rescue dog, they rescue you as much as you rescue them. If you’re fortunate enough to have the unconditional love of an adopted dog in your life, you know this is a true statement.
Pet parent and dog rescuer Jen (@whatshappeningwithjen) would agree that was when she adopted Dobby, a mixed breed pup she and friend Selina (@skinsbuem) rescued from the streets of Bali in 2022. The story of how this mistreated dog was rescued and transformed was featured on Jan. 2, 2024, on The Dodo. Here are the details of this heartwarming story.
When Dobby the dog was rescued, he was in a concerning state.
When Selina and Jen first laid eyes on Dobby, he was emaciated and lost almost all his hair to mange. Spots of his skin were raw with open sores. The women found the poor pup searching for food on the side of the road as they were heading home from another rescue, Jen wrote in a March 8, 2023, Instagram post.
The two women often rescue and rehome dogs in Bali, where they live. Selina even has PayPal and Patreon accounts set up to raise money for their efforts.
According to Jen’s Instagram post, their first attempts to catch Dobby were unsuccessful. They returned to where they saw Dobby several times over three days but couldn’t corral the skittish pup. At one point, they trapped him in a tunnel and tried to coax him out with food. When he did come out of the tunnel a bit, Selina threw a towel over him, but he slipped out of her arms.
“It was very stressful, he fought so hard to get away from us, not knowing who he could trust in this world,” Jen wrote on Instagram.
Finally, after four hours of trying, the women enlisted the help of a professional dog catcher who was able to catch him in a net. Selina and Jen took Dobby to the vet, and then Jen took him to her home, where she lived with three other dogs.
Dobby's human nursed him to perfect health, and he's grown his coat back.
When Dobby got to Jen’s home, he immediately went and hid under a cupboard and stayed there for 18 days, only peaking out to eat some food. “It took so long for him to come out,” Selina told The Dodo. “When he actually came out he had a little bit of fur already and he was gaining weight.”
Within six months, Dobby hardly resembled the naked, emaciated puppy Jen and Selina had rescued. His coat had grown back, and he spent much of his time playing with Jen and her four other dogs.
“Sometimes, I never thought we’d get there. But we did, and I am so thankful every day that we stopped to save him. He’s an absolute joy and such a bundle of love,” Jen wrote on Instagram.
