Our latest foster won the adoption lottery three times. The first time, she was 6 months old. Then, for an unknown reason, six months later, she ended back up at the same shelter 20 pounds underweight. If she wasn't adopted or pulled into rescue, she may have died never knowing someone loved her.
At first, I saved my judgment of the people who let her get so skinny thinking maybe there was a medical reason why she couldn't gain weight. But there wasn't any reason other than they didn't feed her. Amelia has a good appetite and her blood work came back fine.
Putting healthy weight on a dog takes patience. For a month, I came home on my lunch break so she could be fed 3 times a day. The vet recommended adding water and wet food to her food for every meal so she got plenty of water. Amelia got daily exercise to make sure she kept nice muscle tone.
Now, the dog who was once emaciated and sad that her family abandoned her, is building confidence and trust in people with a smile on her face.
One day, Amelia will find her forever family and we will be happy to see her go home with her new family but it won't be without a tear.
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