A four months old Pit Bull puppy later named Jacob was left on the streets of New York City where he nearly died from abandonment and neglect. Jacobs’s mom Haily said,” I don’t like to look at Jacob’s pictures from his days of suffering because it’s too painful.
Jacob was dumped in a parking lot where he nearly died. “I don’t think he even remembers it,” says Toni Enright, who trained Jacob at Forever Home Rehabilitation Center in Virginia Beach.
The first few months of Jacobs’s life were more horrible than any one could imagine. When Jacob was found on that lonely parking lot in New York, he was severely emaciated and suffering from mange. Someone had soaked Jacob in gasoline,”I assume this was an attempt to get rid of the mange” but putting gasoline on an open wound is toxic. Jacobs’s blood was poisoned as result of the gasoline and he was septic, without medical intervention death was certain for Jacob.
Jacobs’s rescuers sent him to Forever Home where he began receiving medical care for his severe conditions. Jacobs’s wounds were healed but he still had a long road ahead of him. “He never had a childhood, a puppyhood,” Lydia and Toni explain, and Jacob needed training. He was so thankful, it seemed, for human contact that he didn’t quite know how to be a dog. He gently nipped at the leash and was overly excited when it came to showing affection.
Jacob was overwhelmed with joy in his new setting at forever home and excelled with the guidance and love from his trainers Lydia and Toni. Jacob made a new friend, another dog at the Forever Home Rehabilitation Center named Clinton. Jacob was even adopted once, but tragically was returned when he chewed up something in the house.
Just as Jacob started to lose a little hope the miracle happened! That miracle had two a names Hailey and Conner. The young couple Hailey and Conner came to Forever Home looking for a dog, and the second they met Jacob, they fell in love. They loved him for everything his former adopter had not appreciated: his exuberance and his uncontainable joy.
“He busted through that door,” recalls Hailey with a laugh, “and he jumped on Conner.” In that very instant, Conner found himself say, “That’s my boy!” Even before their application was approved, they dashed off to the pet store in search of new things for Jacob. When Hailey and Connor got the call to let them know they were free to take Jacob home, they were overwhelmed with joy.
Hailey and Connor have had Jacob for over a month now, and he’s theirs for life. When asked about Jacob’s past, Hailey struggles to find the words. To her, Jacob is a happy dog who delights in every facet of life; he’s the dog who tugs on his toys, digs holes on the beach, and keeps Connor awake at night by licking his face. Finally, she says, “I don’t think people give rescued dogs enough credit.”
Jacob survived abuse and neglect, and every day, he teaches his mom and dad something about perseverance and courage. Lydia and Toni think it’s a Pit Bull thing; these dogs are so strong, they suggest, they find ways to trust even after the worst kind of betrayal.
Hailey and Connor came into Forever Home looking for, in their own words, “a dog to play with us.” What they found was a new member of their family that reminds them every day that no matter how hard life gets and no matter what roadblocks you may face you can find the strength and courage to perceiver. Hailey said,“I want people to realize that with love, any dog can turn it all around.”
To help dogs like Jacob, please consider making a donation to Forever Home or Second Chance Rescue. It turns out Jacob’s best friend at Forever Home, Clinton, is still available for adoption. If you’re interested in meeting him, reach out by email at Thefhrcpack@gmail.com or by phone at (757) 615-4093.
Featured image via Second Chance Rescue NYC
