Pamela, a dog lived in a dilapidated doghouse in her family’s backyard for eight years. Until one day, it appeared that things had gotten much ᴡᴏʀsᴇ for her. Her family moved to another place, and she was ʟᴇꜰᴛ ʙᴇʜɪɴᴅ.

“Ever wonder what a dog with a ʙʀᴏᴋᴇɴ ʜᴇᴀʀᴛ looks like?” Janine Guido, founder of Speranza Animal Rᴇsᴄᴜᴇ in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, wrote on the organization’s Facebook page last week, posting a photo of Pamela peering out of the little house she was about to lose. “This is where she has lived. For eight long years … it’s all she has ever known.” Guido had shown up because she’d been tipped off by a local realtor that the dog would be homeless. The man being evicted arrived shortly after and loaded Pamela into Guido’s car. Guido wrote: “He just shut the door and went back into the house to collect his belongings.”

Pamela was obviously ᴛᴇʀʀɪꜰɪᴇᴅ about the new and sudden changes in her life. She was cowering in her crate, tucking her tail tightly under her, growling softly. Guido wrote: “While she doesn’t have physical ᴡᴏᴜɴᴅs, hers are emotional. And those are the hardest ᴏɴᴇs ᴛᴏ ʜᴇᴀʟ.” But Guido has helped even the most ᴛʀᴀᴜᴍᴀᴛɪᴢᴇᴅ dogs overcome their pasts. So she knew that Pamela just need some love, comfort and patience. The dog also needed a trip to the vet — she had sᴏʀᴇs on her body from living outside in filth. Guido wrote: “When I talk to her she just shakes in fear. Her whole body just trembles … Just the look in her eye is ʙʀᴇᴀᴋɪɴɢ ᴍʏ ʜᴇᴀʀᴛ.”

But just a few days later, Pamela was actually kissing Guido on the face. The dog, who had spent her whole existence outside, came to realize that the rapid changes in her life were really beneficial. Pamela’s kisses were a little tentative at first. But after a few nice walks with Guido, she’s really come around. Guido wrote on Monday: “This morning on our walk, she literally stuck right beside me, never moving more than a foot away. Every five or 10 steps she would look back at me, jump up and put her legs around my waist. When I knelt down, she began kissing my face. Almost as if saying, ‘I’m OK now.’ These are the moments you live for.”

Even though Pamela has clearly made fast progress, no one wants to rush her. It’s important for her to become fully comfortable in her own skin before any more big changes happen. Guido said: “She will be fully vetted and hang with us ’til we get to know all her likes and dislikes. But we’re hoping she will be ready for a family in the near future.”