At a small, overcrowded shelter in South Carolina, a gentle dog named Goldie spent her days trembling in the corner of her kennel. Too scared to look at anyone, she kept her eyes fixed on the cold cinderblock wall, as if waiting for something — or someone — to save her.
With the shelter running out of space, Goldie’s time was quickly running out, too.
“She had been staring at the walls of her kennel, withdrawn into herself, too terrified to look at anyone,” wrote Hounds In Pounds, a nonprofit rescue group, in a Facebook post.
One volunteer at the shelter couldn’t bear to watch Goldie fade away. She took photos and videos of the frightened pup and sent them to Hounds In Pounds, pleading for help.
“When we saw the video of her staring at the wall, shaking, we knew we had to get her help,” a Hounds In Pounds representative told The Dodo.
Thanks to their rescue network, Goldie was quickly moved to a veterinarian’s office, where she could begin to decompress. Supporters rallied around her, donating toward her care and sending love from afar. For the first time in a long time, Goldie had a soft bed, medical attention, and people who believed in her.
Little by little, Goldie began to change.
“She gets better each day,” the rescue shared. “She is still shut down but starting to trust. She had her first session with a trainer who got her up and moving with ease, and today she was walking around the clinic with no convincing!”
Goldie isn’t fully healed yet, but she’s on her way. Soon, she’ll travel north to a foster home in New Jersey, where she’ll continue her journey toward finding a forever family.
“She has relaxed more,” the rescue said. “She knows she is safe now.”
Goldie may have once felt invisible, staring at a wall in silence — but today, her future is wide open.
If you’d like to support Goldie and other shelter dogs like her, you can donate to Hounds In Pounds.
