A homeless dog living in a trash pile

Miley had given up on herself but we wouldn’t give up on her...

After months of spotting a dog in the nearby junkyard, locals noticed that her health started to deteriorate rapidly so they made a call for help. 

By the time Eldad arrived, the dog was hard to distinguish from the junk around her. Clearly suffering from mange, she was covered in more patches of blotchy red skin and open sores than fur. It was a horrific site and we can’t imagine the amount of pain and suffering she’d faced over the last year. 

When Eldad approached her makeshift home of stained blankets and ripped mattresses, Miley barely moved. Usually, stray dogs -- especially sick or injured ones -- are cautious of strangers and bark or growl when first approached but Miley didn’t have any fight left. She had given up. 

The biggest struggle in getting Miley to safety was her own exhaustion.

She was too tired to get up but once coaxed onto her feet, she stumbled to her new resting place in the passenger seat of Eldad’s car. After a worryingly quiet ride, Miley arrived safely at the animal hospital and she stood calmly as staff checked her over. Mange wasn’t the only affliction Miley was facing, she had been living in the junkyard for a long time and suffered from parasites, bacterial infection and malnutrition on top of her painful skin condition. Luckily, Miley’s quiet attitude helped her through the numerous medicated baths and wound cleanings required to bring her back to health. 

Miley’s body wasn’t the only thing that needed time to heal, her spirit had been broken. It took her days to start interacting with Hope for Paws staff, but it was when she met an unlikely friend that we saw the dog she once was and certainly would be again. You’ll have to watch the video to see this amazing transformation.