Stray pup got ‘unthinkable’ diagnosis at shelter. Now healthy, she has a home
A stray puppy received an “unthinkable” diagnosis at a shelter — then her luck took a turn for the better.
After the beloved pup got healthy, a North Carolina shelter celebrated her heartwarming adoption.
“She’s the sweetest most well behaved puppy many of us have ever met, an instant celebrity,” the Yancey County Humane Society told McClatchy News in a May 17 email. “We’re happy that she was adopted to a loving home.”
The shelter shared the good news after Rhiannon the pup had a “tremendously rough start to life.” She was in bad shape when she was rescued as a stray, the animal organization wrote in its email and a Facebook post.
“She was abandoned, picked up by the sheriff’s department, and brought to our shelter,” the humane society wrote. “She arrived extremely anemic, underweight, terrified, and covered in hundreds of ticks.”
Then, within a day of her arrival, the shelter said “the unthinkable happened — Rhiannon tested positive for parvo. This is one of the worst diagnoses a puppy can receive, especially in a shelter environment. The virus spreads quickly and is often fatal.”
The shelter said it was dedicated to treating the sick pup, who went into quarantine and received “around-the-clock care.” Days later, her appetite improved and “her fear began to fade.”
The little dog, believed to be a Great Pyrenees mix, also started showing her friendliness as she wagged her tail. She eventually got better and went up for adoption, leading her to a fresh start with a new family.
“She absolutely defied the odds and survived,” the humane society wrote.
The shelter is in Burnsville, a roughly 35-mile drive northeast from the mountain town of Asheville.
