The tiny puppy was barely hanging on after our rescuers removed him from the filth and neglect of a breeding operation in May 2023: head down, eyes crusted shut, body dehydrated and temperature 5 degrees below normal. Our Animal Rescue Team gave the Australian shepherd, the runt of the litter, to Kirsten Peek, Humane World for Animals’ manager of media relations, to foster. Every two hours through the night, she woke to feed him, dropping milk down his throat from a bottle. She braced herself for the worst.
“He is the sickest puppy I have ever fostered who survived,” says Peek, who has fostered more than 90 animals.
Growing stronger every day
Peek continued bottle-feeding the dog, whom rescuers named Twitch, until he could lift his head and latch on. She put ointment on his infected eyes, and they opened. She gave him dewormer, and he expelled the parasites that had filled his stomach. He began to eat gruel. His back legs, which were once smaller than his front legs and seemed locked in an upright position, developed, and he started walking. Once he’d had his shots, she took him outside and let him run in the yard, though a clap of thunder would send him tearing back to her.
Over the course of two months, Twitch became feisty and rambunctious. “He turned into a spicy, energetic puppy,” Peek says.
From empty home to full heart
Just as Twitch was ready for adoption, Lewis Miles of Gaithersburg, Maryland, lost his dog of over 15 years. The goldendoodle had helped him through his mom’s death, living on his own for the first time and COVID-19. His apartment felt empty. Miles started looking for a dog and quickly spotted Twitch on one of our rescue partners’ websites. He was the first to submit an application, and the first Peek interviewed. Miles took the puppy home in August and named him Onyx.
Gone was the dog who rescuers feared was “fading.” In his place was a puppy who, at 6 in the morning, climbed onto Miles’ chest. “He was definitely a handful,” says Miles. “Always into something. I’ve never seen him in a bad mood. He’s like, ‘Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go.’”
Miles takes Onyx on walks and hikes and to the dog park. Onyx has four dog friends, including a best friend who lives above them. Peek visits with her own dogs.
Miles says he’s grateful for all that Peek gave Onyx and for the light Onyx gives him. “I couldn’t live without him.”
Share your story! Do you have an inspiring tale of an adopted pet or farm animal? Send it to us at humaneworld.org/yourstory.
