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Elderly dog abandoned before Christmas had given up on life but found a new home just in time

Just days before Christmas last year, an elderly German shepherd-mastiff mix was found abandoned, hungry, and broken hearted. This story has a happy ending just in time for this year’s Christmas Day.

The 10-year-old dog, named Molly-Moo, was picked up by the police and delivered to the animal welfare charity. An investigation was launched by Inspector Steven Lee.

(Courtesy of RSPCA)

“Poor Molly-Moo was in such a sorry state and looked so sad,” he said. “When you looked in her eyes she seemed broken, like she’d given up hope. It was devastating.

“Molly was wandering along a busy, dangerous road and I believe she’d been dumped there by someone like rubbish,” he added. “She was incredibly emaciated with bones protruding and had a bad, untreated skin condition.”

While Molly-Moo may have been microchipped, and the owners were able to track her down, it turns out she was stolen from their garden six years earlier, and they weren’t able to take her back.

So, she was taken to Birmingham Animal Hospital for treatment and TLC. The RSPCA said in a statement that they fed her a special diet to help her gain weight and started treating the skin condition on Molly-Moo. After six months under their care, staff felt like Molly-Moo was ready for adoption.

“We wanted to give her a good end of life.”

It didn’t take long for the animal charity to find a candidate. Fabricator welder John Bebbington and his wife had spotted Molly-Moo online and knew they wanted to provide her the home she deserved.

“We lost our Staffie after 13 years together and we weren’t really looking for another dog but, one day, we came across Molly-Moo’s photo online and we were all smitten,” said John. “Her face just looked so sad and her story was heartbreaking.

“I don’t think I could face hearing what she has been through, so I’m glad she can’t speak. We wanted to give Molly a good end of life, because our previous dog had 13 years of blissful life.”

Molly-Moo was adopted by the family in June, and at first they found her to be a handful, as she was so nervous and confused after enduring so much trauma.

He said that “Her skin was tough and rough like elephant skin, she stank and there were chunks of fur coming off all over the house,”

John said that it was a very difficult undertaking. They kept her on top of her medication and had to bathe her every day. They shampooed her, cleaned her ears, and cleaned up after her as all her scabs fell off and fur came out.

“There were times when we thought: ‘What have we done?’ But then we remember what someone had done to her and how she deserved a happy and healthy life,” added John.

John said that Molly-Moo is like a totally different dog today. Her fur is growing back and her ears are healing. She is much more happy now that her skin is soft.

“We can let her off the lead and she toddles around the park socializing with other dogs,” the owner said. “She’s really turned a corner and is very happy, sweet-natured, and well-behaved.

“She is an older girl but it does not stop her from running around through the grass. She won’t leave my side, she never goes far though. I have found a best friend for the rest of my life and she has as well.”

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