“She was tied up,” Horsley said “with just a leash wrapped around her neck, you know, kinda starting to choke her just trying to sit down.”
Source: YouTube Screenshot“If you know what a scared animal sounds like, that was it,” Horsley said. “It’s heartbreaking. She’s such an innocent puppy.”
Jaryd was not sure how he should approach the dog, so he went to his fiancee’s home and informed her about his find. She had some leftover chicken at home, so she took it along with her and they returned to the dog.
They were not sure how the dog would react. The dog growled when they tried to get nearer, probably not sure whether she could trust them to be well-wishers, or that they had come to hurt her. Probably her past experience with humans had left her suspicious and scared.
“I threw a small piece of chicken but the dog was tied up so tight to the dumpster that she could not reach the food,” said Horsley’s fiancee. “She savagely ate the little pieces of chicken once Jaryd had pushed the food towards her with his shoe.”
“It was so difficult to untie her since she could not breathe even if I pulled slightly,” wrote Horsley’s fiancée. Finally they managed to get close enough to pet her. Once they had won her confidence, they took her home with them.
“She was so cold, but was so happy that we found her and fed her,” she continued. “Jaryd grabbed one of our comforters and used it as a bed for the dog.” They decided to name her Phoebe.
The visit to the vet the next morning, turned out to be more painful than they anticipated. Besides having a serious skin infection, and suffering from malnutrition, Phoebe, who was just eight-month-old also had a heart murmur. Had they left her unattended, she would not have survived. It seemed like a possible reason why her previous family had disowned her.
Source: YouTube Screenshot
Phoebe’s heart treatment would require funds which Horsley, who was with the Marine Corps and his fiancee who was a college student, working a part-time job, could not afford. The treatment expenses would run in thousands. That same morning, they paid as much as they could.
“I just want her to be happy,” Horsley said, “be comfortable, have a good life, no matter how long it is.”
The two then decided to start a GoFundMe page, to arrange for Phoebe’s heart treatment, as Phoebe would require to be on medication for the rest of her life.
Horsley and his fiancee were happy they could give Phoebe a comfortable home and add some happy moments to her life.
[Source: ABC 10 News]
