Little Bulldog Is Sick and Weak but Rescuer Sees Fight in Her, Saves Her Life
When Nikki Carvey, founder of Road Dogs & Rescue, stumbled upon a Craigslist ad for an $800 3-month-old “mini bulldog,” she knew something wasn’t right.
When Nikki looked at the picture, she couldn’t believe how sick the little dog looked. Her head was much too large, and her body was far too tiny.
“I was looking at the photo thinking, ‘That dog does not look well. There is no way that she’s three months old,'” Nikki said.
Nikki arranged to go meet the dog, and upon arriving, her suspicions were confirmed.
She realized the dog was even more sick than the photo let on, and the tiny pup could’t have been more than four weeks old. The breeders had tried to pass her off as a mini bulldog, but she was growing too much, so they’d been starving her to make her look smaller.
“She had an infection and was malnourished. I mean, she was about four weeks old. They were trying to say she was three months old. It’s crazy!” Nikki said.
Nikki knew the little bulldog needed her help and immediately rescued her from the illegal breeders. She took her to the vet, but the future was not looking bright for the starving 1.5 lb dog.
But Nikki was no stranger to giving unwanted dogs a fighting chance. With Road Dogs & Rescue, she’s saved plenty of dogs surrendered by breeders because they couldn’t be sold, and she knew the tiny bulldog had more fight left in her.
“There’s a lot of dogs breeders surrender because they cant sell them,” Nikki continued. “Their lifespan might be shorter, but I just think that they deserve a chance.
She named the dog Hopelily and soon took her home to meet her furry foster siblings. And soon, with their help, Hopelily began to grow and get stronger.
“Obviously when we got her, she was so tiny, tiny, so she was very quiet and it took her a while to come into herself,” Nikki explained. “But once she started putting on weight, it was just amazing.”
Hopelily soon began to show her true personality, and let everyone else know just how spunky and full of life she is.
“She was hilarious! She was the boss,” Nikki said.
“She turned into a feisty little thing,” she added.
Of course, Hopelily’s favorite sibling was her brother Kongo, who also happened to be the biggest dog in the family.
“I think she was about the size of Kongo’s nostril,” Nikki said. “He was just a complete pushover. He let Hopelily boss him around completely.”
And finally, after months of recovery, Hopelily was finally ready to find her forever home.
“I always get a bit sad when dogs that I’ve fostered go into new homes,” Nikki said. “But rescue is about doing what’s best for the dogs. At some point, you’ve got to let go.”
When Hopelily finally went to meet her forever family, she instant fell in love with her new fur sister Sunday.
“Hopelily walked right in, not scared of anything,” her new owner said. “And I kid you not, Sunday walked over to her, picked up her paw, and roped her up like this. They’re soul sisters. Meant to be together.”
“They’re inseparable. They play together. They love cuddling. They sleep together curled up into balls.”
“And they’re like a comedy team. They twin all the time, like, do the same things, sit the same way,” she continued.
Hopelily, just a tiny 1.5 lb pup when she was rescued, now weighs nearly 29 lbs.
“Nobody thought she’d get this big… She was being starved to death to look tiny. And against all odds, she survived.”
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