Brussel Sprouts

He has a family now. A name they chose for him, foster siblings turned housemates, a couch he is still learning how to launch himself onto with any dignity, and a body strong enough to carry him wherever he wants to go. Twenty one pounds of skin and bone became a happy, healthy dog, and he did it in less than three months. 

When Brussel Sprouts was found, he was nothing but sharp angles. A Good Samaritan spent a week trying to catch him, and he only succeeded once this pup had grown too weak from starvation to stand up anymore. He was rushed to the emergency vet, and when we got the call about a skeletal dog clinging to life, we tagged him on the spot and went to get him ourselves. 

His initial exam told us everything about what he had been through. He could only walk in short bursts before nearly collapsing from exhaustion. His underside was covered in bug bites, most likely because he had been too weak to lift himself off the ground. His nails were badly overgrown, and discharge oozed from his right eye. His body condition score came back at one out of nine, the lowest end of the scale. He had withered away to almost nothing. 

Saving him was not as simple as feeding him. For a dog that emaciated, refeeding too quickly can cause organ failure and death, so our vets built a careful, meticulously managed plan of small meals every four to six hours. In those early days, he stumbled and fell constantly, and he cried often, not from pain but from frustration as his own body failed him. He looked up at our team with big green eyes and, despite being wary of people, tentatively decided to trust us. 

Then he started to grow. He was up to 26 pounds within a couple of weeks. By mid April, he had gained over 12 pounds since intake. By the end of the month, he weighed 43 pounds and was blossoming into an entirely different dog: confident, playful, obsessed with a good chew, and completely devoted to his foster siblings. What began as a medical foster turned into a crash course in what home life feels like, and he passed with flying colors. 

On June 10th, Brussel Sprouts was adopted. His family renamed him Roux, and he is already settling in with people who adore him. After everything he survived alone, he will never have to wonder where his next meal is coming from or whether anyone is looking for him again. 

Roux is here because strangers refused to walk past a starving dog. Every donation, every share, and every word of encouragement from this loving CUDDLY community carried him from that yard to a family of his own. Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, for showing up for him the way you did.