An abandoned, starving dog with his ribs exposed was taken off the streets to be put to sleep, but ended up making an incredible recovery instead.
An abandoned, emaciated dog on the brink of death was taken off the streets to be put to sleep, but ended up making an incredible recovery instead.
The dog was originally spotted on a beach in Greece in November 2014 and was nothing more than skin and bones. A passer-byer took a photo of the poor dog and shared it on social media where it was spotted by Valia Orfaniduo, a volunteer at Orphan Pet Greece.
She wrote in a post about Billy’s recovery that he originally looked like something out of a “horror movie.”
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Valia and her colleagues at the Ilioupolis Animal Welfare Union traveled 40 miles to the town that the dog was last spotted in.
When they found the poor dog, named Billy, he was severely emaciated, had trouble walking and was suffering from an extremely contagious type of mange.
The rescuers managed to catch him and bring him back to Athens to get medical care.
“When we took him out of his box the sight of his suffering body and his absolute terror were so petrifying that we couldn’t even cry,” Valia wrote in post, “We were pretty sure that we had taken him off the streets just to offer him the chance of a dignified death and that the vet would advise that we put him to sleep.”
Although everyone thought the vet would recommend putting Billy down, he didn't.
The vet gave Billy the okay to start treatment. Because he was suffering from a contagious type of mange, he had to be isolated and was put in a small bathroom.
“He just laid there in the corner and was so obvious he just needed to be left alone. So we let him rest. Those first couple of weeks were so overwhelming for both of us,” Valia wrote, “He must have been feeling so safe and secure in that small room that he slept for hours and hours. He would eat four times a day and then just go back to sleep”
Less than two weeks into his recovery, Billy’s transformation was already noticeable.
“Within 10 days he had already grown stronger and started taking small walks out on the terrace,” Valia wrote, “The first time he wagged his tail made my heart melt. He looked so much stronger and healthier from one week to another that our first thought of having to put him to sleep now looked simply ridiculous.”
Two months later Billy looked nothing like the picture of the weak, emaciated dog that Valia first spotted online.
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During his recovery Valia began sharing updates on Billy’s progress, and he soon developed a fan base.
Many people were so shocked by Billy’s transformation, they accused Valia of faking the before and after shots by using two different dogs.
After Valia posted a video of Billy’s recovery on YouTube she received an email from a Greek woman living in Switzerland, who had been following Billy’s story and wanted to adopt him.
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