It seems like Eldad Hagar, co-founder of Southern California animal rescue organization Hope for Paws, is always pulling off spectacular rescues.
In September, DogTime.com told you about Scout, who was taken in from the streets of Los Angeles by Hagar and eventually adopted by Sons of Anarchy producer Mike Daniels. And in early 2012, the amazing transformation made by blind Poodle mix Fiona touched the hearts of millions on DogTime and around the world.
Now Hagar’s November 15 video of a rescue and recovery of white Siberian Husky Miley, abandoned and dying in an L.A. trash heap, is making the rounds on the web, brightening people’s spirits just in time for the holidays.
“When I got there, I almost couldn’t believe what I was seeing,” Hagar tells the Huffington Post, remembering Miley’s living conditions before he rescued the helpless Husky. “It’s almost as if this place was struck by a tsunami.”
As Hagar approached Miley, he noticed the poor pooch was too weak and sick to resist his rescue efforts. From the missing patches of fur that covered the dog’s body, Hagar could tell she was suffering from a bad case of mange. Miley had likely been living in that trash pile for months, surviving on scraps. Because of how badly her body had deteriorated, Hagar says Miley’s case is “definitely one of the worst” he’d ever seen.
For more than an hour, Hagar sat with Miley, trying to gain her trust using bits of food. Once he was able to slip a leash around her neck, Hagar led Miley to his car and drove her immediately to the vet’s office.
“She was very lucky we rescued her when we did, because her condition would have continued to deteriorate until she would have died a miserable and painful death,” Hagar explains.
Veterinarians discovered that not only was Miley covered in mange, she had a host of other parasites and bacterial infections coursing through her body. Because she’d lived on only scraps at the garbage dump, Miley also had a bad case of malnutrition.
For the first few days, as she received intensive medical treatment, Miley could only lie around, exhausted after everything she’d been through.
“She was in so much pain,” Hagar says of Miley’s condition.
As the medications started to work and Miley began to feel much better than before, the Husky began to come out of her shell.
But it wasn’t until Miley met Frankie that she truly blossomed, transforming from the frightened dog she once was into the gentle girl she is today.
Hagar and a friend rescued Frankie, a nervous little Chihuahua, from a sewer tunnel. Frankie was swept into the pipe after a heavy rainstorm and nearly drowned.
“He was so scared of everything,” Hagar says of Frankie in the rescue video.
As Hagar introduced Frankie and Miley to one another, something amazing happened — they became inseparable. The two snuggle together, play together, and always show one another affection.
“Miley took Frankie under her wing and they quickly became really good friends,” the video explains.
Soon Miley and Frankie will be ready to go to their forever homes, but for now they are enjoying each other’s company, helping each other heal.
If you’d like to learn more about Miley, Frankie, or any of the animals who’ve been rescued by Eldad Hagar and Hope for Paws, check out the organization’s website. For more amazing Hope for Paws rescue videos, visit the group’s Facebook page or YouTube channel.
Sources: Huffington Post, HopeforPaws.org
