Sick Puppy Who Lost All Her Fur Looks So Different Now

“She got to see what it was like to be in a home, and how to eat out of a dog bowl … and sleep in a bed.”

When Barbara Zuluaga saw a photo of a tiny, crusty-skinned puppy, she didn’t know what kind of dog she was.

“I thought that she was a Chihuahua or some other small breed,” Zuluaga, board member of A Chance to Bloom Dog Rescue in Houston, Texas, told The Dodo. “She was just covered in mange, and it was very hard to tell.”

Sick Puppy Who Lost All Her Fur Looks So Different Now
A Chance to Bloom Dog Rescue

The puppy, who was about 8 months old at the time, was actually a Staffordshire terrier mix — but she was so malnourished, she was half the size she should have been, weighing about 12 pounds.

The puppy, named Ziva at the time, had come into the BARC Animal Shelter in April after being found chained to a tree on a property in Houston. Besides being malnourished and covered in mange, Ziva had sores all over her body, and her foot pads had been rubbed raw.

Sick Puppy Who Lost All Her Fur Looks So Different Now
A Chance to Bloom Dog Rescue

“It’s a really sad story, and it happens a lot in Houston,” Zuluaga said. “For a dog to get the injuries that she had — the mange and malnourishment — they have to be kept in a certain state for a long time, so it’s really obvious that she suffered.”

Ziva was also scared of everyone she encountered. “When you held her, she shook, and she wouldn’t make eye contact,” Zuluaga said.

Sick Puppy Who Lost All Her Fur Looks So Different Now
A Chance to Bloom Dog Rescue

Zuluaga pulled Ziva from the shelter and got her to a vet for treatment. While she was there, one of the veterinary technicians, Stephanie Williams, fell in love with Ziva, and she didn’t want to say goodbye when it was time for her to go.

Sick Puppy Who Lost All Her Fur Looks So Different Now
A Chance to Bloom Dog Rescue

“It broke my heart to think about her leaving, and I wanted to be a part of her recovery,” Williams told The Dodo. “So I volunteered to foster her.”

Sick Puppy Who Lost All Her Fur Looks So Different Now
A Chance to Bloom Dog Rescue

Ziva lived with Williams for about two months, and during this time, Ziva gained weight, grew in a new coat of fur and learned a lot about being a dog.

Sick Puppy Who Lost All Her Fur Looks So Different Now
A Chance to Bloom Dog Rescue

“She got to see what it was like to be in a home, and how to eat out of a dog bowl and drink out of a dog water bowl and sleep in a bed and how to jump up on the couch,” Williams said. “She did really, really well overcoming the adversities and the challenges that had been set before her, and I’m proud of her.”

Sick Puppy Who Lost All Her Fur Looks So Different Now
A Chance to Bloom Dog Rescue

Lots of people were interested in adopting Ziva because she looked so little and cute, but Zuluaga knew Ziva required an adopter who could continue helping her through her fear issues. Eventually, Zuluaga found the perfect person.

Sick Puppy Who Lost All Her Fur Looks So Different Now
A Chance to Bloom Dog Rescue

“A lady wrote to me and said that she heard Ziva’s story and really connected to it,” Zuluaga said. “She’d previously rehabilitated dogs, and we had no doubt that she’d be the perfect adopter.”

Sick Puppy Who Lost All Her Fur Looks So Different Now
A Chance to Bloom Dog Rescue

This past weekend, Ziva went to her new home in Fort Worth, Texas, and also got a new name — Roxy.

Sick Puppy Who Lost All Her Fur Looks So Different Now
A Chance to Bloom Dog Rescue

“Roxy is doing fabulously,” Cassie Rogers, Roxy’s adopter, told The Dodo. “She is definitely attached to my hip — I have become her mom.”

Sick Puppy Who Lost All Her Fur Looks So Different Now
Roxy with her foster mom and adopter | A Chance to Bloom Dog Rescue

“She is starting to play with toys, loves food time and treats, snuggles on the couch with us and sleeps in the bed, gives me kisses, and just wants to run and play with the big dogs,” Rogers added. “I am in love with her.”

While Roxy got a happy ending, lots of other dogs in Houston still need help. You can help A Chance to Bloom Dog Rescue save more dogs by making a donation.

Related Posts

I wasn’t planning to stop that morning, but when I saw four muddy boxer puppies huddled by a ditch on County Road 12, I had to. No mom, no house—just an empty box nearby. I scooped them up, took them home, bathed them, and let them rest (check in first comment👇)

” He warned. We scanned for microchips. Only the puppy with the yellow collar had one—registered years ago to a vet clinic several counties away. The staff had no updated owner info. These puppies couldn’t have been more than eight weeks old. Tate eventually shared more: “There are people who breed dogs for reasons you…

Look how relieved this stray pup is now that he finally feels safe 💗

He just wants to be loved.

Driver Glances Out Window And Sees Someone Tiny Tied To A Broken Tree

She’s so happy now.

This lonely stray dog seeks pets from a statue 😭

His heart is broken no longer.

Chained for Three Years, Dog Weeps During Rescue from Life of Pain

This dog spent his whole life tied up, suffering in silence. When he was finally freed, he cried—and so did his rescuers.

I’m deeply saddened to share that Sam passed away naturally two days ago at the age of 18

I’m deeply saddened to share that Sam passed away naturally two days ago at the age of 18. His health declined rapidly—in less than 10 hours—due to…