When Barilla was brought to a rescue center in Granada, Spain, she was so starved, her bones were sticking out from her skin and her organs were close to failing. Because she was incredibly weak, she couldn’t even stand or walk. It would have been easy for the rescue center’s owner, Eduardo Rodriguez, to turn her away, but he was devoted to helping the abused dog recover.
The task wasn’t easy, however. He told The Daily Mail:
“I’ve been rescuing dogs since I was a child and I’m used to seeing them in a bad way but I’ve never seen an animal in such a terrible state as Barilla. She’d been so starved of food and water when we took her in that all she could move was her head and her tail.”
The veterinarians believe that she must have been locked up and deprived of food and water because even street dogs are able to forage for leftover scraps. When she was taken in by the center, Barilla was hours away from death.
With consistent treatment, support, and love, however, she made a miraculous recovery.
It took seven weeks of treatment, but Barilla now looks like a different dog. She has gained 46 pounds since she began treatment and, according to Rodriguez, has an “incredible will to live.”
“Her recovery has been staggering. The vet said several times that…most normal dogs would have died. We’re inseparable now…The first day I saw her I told my colleagues I was going to keep her and that’s the way it’s been.”
The shelter’s staff are still investigating how the dog came to be so starved and abused. They hope to find the person responsible and denounce them for animal cruelty. At least Barilla now lives a happy life with Rodriguez and his family.
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