There are few things that make me happier than stories of neglected or abused animals getting a second chance in life.
I only need to think of a dog’s life being changed for the better to get all warm inside. You can trust me when I say that the following story has left me feeling exactly that.
All dogs deserve to feel safe and loved throughout their lives. Unfortunately, some pups will simply never get that chance.
In May 2020, Hazel, a pit bull, was abandoned by her owners and ended up at Mr. Bones & Co. and Rescue the Runway. She was in bad shape and had sustained multiple injuries.
According to the shelter, Hazel was eight to nine years old, emaciated, and wasting away due to diabetes when she finally got the help she deserved.
“She came to us after a life of backyard breeding, a blind senior struggling with diabetic ketoacidosis which almost took her life,” Mr. Bones & Co. and Rescue the Runway wrote.
Due to juvenile diabetes, Hazel had lived most of her life blind, and didn’t know how the world around her looked. The only way for her to navigate was by using her other senses; hearing, feeling, and smelling.
Hazel, who had also been bred repeatedly, had to fight a lot of obstacles, but she proved to be a strong little lady and one mighty little survivor. She captured the hearts of the staff of Mr. Bones & Co. and Rescue the Runway, but they couldn’t keep Hazel forever.
Thankfully, there were kind people willing to go out of their way to help Hazel, and give her food, warmth, and a safe place before finding her adoptive parents.
When her foster parents, Elli and Sam, heard about her situation, they acted immediately. The couple were more than willing to take on Hazel with the intention to find her a forever home
“When we heard Hazel was blind, we wanted to make sure we did some research. We tried to kind of figure out the best way for her to get her bearing,” they told The Dodo.
After taking her in, Elli and Sam developed an ambitious system to handle Hazel’s visual challenges.
The foster parents built a safe environment where Hazel could play without hurting herself on sharp corners or hard surfaces. They also had sound cues and said ”no” as soon as Hazel was heading somewhere dangerous. They also had a signal if they wanted her to come close.
Before long, Hazel started to adjust, and made huge improvements day by day. Being in a safe environment helped a lot, and soon enough she was wiggling her tail and playing without hurting herself.
Hazel was taking steps toward finding her forever home, but needed continued support before the adoption process was complete.
In the summer of 2020, Hazel’s life took a new turn when she met her next set of foster parents, Allison and Pete. The kindhearted couple would have much the same role as Hazel’s previous foster parents, but with one big difference: they would experience a minor miracle regarding Hazel’s vision.
“Mr. Bones & Co. put out a message that Hazel needed a home. But also, that at some point, within the timing that we were going to have her, she was going to go in for surgery to restore her sight,” Allison said.
While caring for Hazel, Allison and Pete witnessed a momentous change in her life when she regained her sight after eye surgery. In October 2020, Hazel had bilateral cataract surgery with artificial lens implantation.
Everything went well, and after a few days of rest in the hospital, her foster parents went to pick her up – it was an emotional meeting indeed.
Trust us when we say that the moment she saw her beloved foster parents for the first time was really touching.
Hazel’s post-surgery eye care included multiple eye drops for a number of weeks. It was Allison who administered them, with the help of yummy treats.
A couple of months after getting her sight back, Hazel was adopted by a family from Massachusetts. According to the rescue center, Hazel was “living her best life with Onalie, John and canine brother, Cooper.”
Absolutely beautiful! This truly makes my heart happy!
