“To be honest, she was always out of her shell.”
While walking around Bali a few years ago, Charlotte Hailey, a volunteer at Mission Paws’ible dog rescue, noticed a stray dog with a severe skin condition. The poor pup was covered in painful, red sores—it was clear she needed urgent help.
“The moment I saw her, I was just shocked at how bad her skin was,” Hailey told The Dodo.
Despite her illness, the dog surprised Hailey by trusting her immediately, walking right up to her and taking a treat from her hand.
“You could tell from her tail that she was just the sweetest little dog,” Hailey said.
Her friendly nature made Hailey suspect that she once had a family—one that had likely abandoned her because of her condition. Hailey desperately wanted to rescue her, but without the right supplies, she feared hurting the fragile pup. She left with a plan to return as soon as possible.
But when she came back, the dog was gone.
Determined to find her, Hailey asked around. A kind man mentioned he knew where the dog usually slept. Hailey handed him a cage, and he promised to capture her the next time he saw her. Thankfully, it didn’t take long.
Once safely trapped, the pup was brought to the rescue and given a name: Delilah. She quickly charmed the volunteers, wagging her tail and winning hearts.
With proper treatment and care, Delilah’s sores healed, and her fur began to grow back. In just a few months, she was unrecognizable. She stayed with a foster family until a woman named Amelia fell in love with her and decided to give her a forever home.
The feeling was mutual.
“When she came to me, she got out of the car and immediately started wagging her tail,” Amelia told The Dodo. “To be honest, she was always out of her shell.”
At only eight months old, Delilah had already endured so much. But once she was safe, she finally got to experience the joy of being a carefree puppy. Now, her favorite thing is going to the beach, where she runs through the sand and plays in the waves—her past nothing more than a distant memory.