Gertie

It was hard to find the words when writing Gertie's story at first, but boy are we glad that it ended in a happy ever after.  Telling her story- what really happened- was heartbreaking. But this tragic beginning ended in the most heartwarming end. 

Gertie was literally scraped off the ground in rural GA. She was either dumped there after enduring MONTHS of cruel neglect or she collapsed there from exhaustion after walking with what little strength she had left. Either way, she was in a devastating state. She was only about twenty pounds - the weight was mostly of her bones and skin. Nothing else. Conditions like hers took TIME. She wasn't invisible and this didn't happen overnight. Her suffering and her starvation were long and painful and constant. Rescuers were so angry and tired and very upset thinking about the amount of pain Gertie has had to endure at one year old but they had to stay focused. There was a cruelty investigation put on THANK GOD but rescuers just wanted to make sure she was safe and would be healthy again.

Sweet Gertie was 35-40 lbs underweight, according to doctors. She has never known a warm home or steady meal; lord knows what she's been eating to survive. The major concern was needing to be careful with the amount of food she was introduced to so that rescuers got nowhere near refeeding syndrome. So they slowly tried to bump up her food every day. She had an incredible spirit and will to survive. This dog has clearly gone through so much in her short life and she still trusted her rescuers and knew she was being helped. She has so much unconditional love to give. After weeks and weeks later, and with the diligent care of her foster and rescuers, Gertie gained her weight back and become stronger. It was a lengthy and tiresome process, but she persevered and made a full recovery. 

After her recovery, Gertie was transferred into a foster home for a while and received all the goodies in the world from her CUDDLY donors which she LOVED. She also raised over $800 for her medical care; her treatments would not have been possible without her CUDDLY supporters. We are sure that she has never been happier. To end her story on an amazing note, she has been ADOPTED and is as good as new with her health all thanks to her donors! Thank you so much to everyone that has been there for her throughout her journey!