Surviving the winter weather is not an easy feat. To tolerate the weather, humans would usually cover themselves in several layers of clothing before going outside. But for this Siberian husky, he had to endure sitting in the cold for several years.
It wasn’t until a fateful encounter changed his entire life.
Collapsed house
Rescue workers rushed to a home in New Philadelphia, Pennsylvania after they received a tip that the house was on the verge of collapsing.
But when they arrived, the rescuers never thought that they would encounter something like this.
A lonely dog
The rescuers were taken back after they saw a poor Siberian husky tied outside in the cold, his chains were weighing him down and it was apparent that his condition had affected his health.
But being chained outside during the unforgiving winter weather wasn’t the only thing that the rescuers noticed…
Mistreated
The rescuers could not believe it. The dog wasn’t just forced to stay out in the cold alone, but the dog was also sitting on his own waste. The dog barely had a decent shelter to protect him from the weather too, all he had was a battered truck roof above his head.
The people at the scene felt sorry for the poor pooch and disgusted towards the owner.
Welfare Law
With Pennsylvania’s strict animal welfare laws, it was unbelievable how deplorable cases as this still happened. Keeping a dog chained up outside for more than 9 hours is actually illegal, during winter, owners are allowed to chain their dogs up outside for not more than 30 minutes.
Fortunately, the rescuers arrived just in time.
Getting help
Rescuers from the Hillside SPCA were called out to the scene. The team of rescuers from the SPCA arrived almost immediately. They found out that the dog’s name was actually Cloud.
After examining Cloud’s conditions, the team of rescuers concluded that the poor dog must have been chained up outside for most of his life. But what will Cloud’s owner do now?
Giving him away
Fortunately, Cloud’s owner surrendered him to the authorities without any resistance. The people from the SPCA were heartbroken after seeing Cloud’s horrible condition.
Especially for Tricia Moyer, the Hillside SPCA’s assistant manager.
Matted Fur
“When we met Cloud we were in shock at his condition,” Tricia shared.
Who wouldn’t be? Cloud’s fur was severely matted, and Tricia noticed how He had a large mass on his hind end and was really thin. “He was a broken, sad shell of a dog.”
Getting examined
After rescuing Cloud from his previous home, they immediately brought him to their clinic. To their surprise, the large mass on his rear was a tumor!
They also found out that Cloud might actually be deaf. The vet tried to check if it was safe to remove the tumor but unfortunately, it’s too dangerous for Cloud to undergo an operation due to his old age…
Depressed dog
It was apparent that Cloud must have felt depressed. After all, being chained up outside for most of his life might have led him to believe that nothing else was out there for him. The staff noticed how Cloud would just pace back and forth whenever he’s awake and just fall back to sleep.
The dog’s sedentary lifestyle led the shelter staff to reach out to another person for help…
Eleanor Garnett
Desperate to find a solution to Cloud’s behavior, the shelter called Eleanor Garnett, an employee from Senior Dog Haven and Hospice to ask her to foster Cloud.
When Eleanor first met Cloud, she was shocked at how he behaved. This dog wasn’t acting like a dog at all, he’s just a mess,” Eleanor said. Can Eleanor even fix Cloud?
Odd behavior
“He’s walking into things. I don’t think he’d ever been inside anywhere in his life, so he was just so out of sorts,” Eleanor shared her observation. But despite Cloud’s antisocial behavior, Eleanor was determined to help Cloud.
Without hesitation, she took the dog home with her and started their new life together. But it seems living with Cloud wasn’t as easy as she hoped it was.
New Home
This wasn’t the first time that Eleanor had fostered a dog, but with Cloud’s case, she certainly felt that he was different.
“I had him in my house, and he was knocking things over. He was running into things, and I thought, ‘Oh no. This is going to be difficult,” Eleanor said. Cloud bumping into things wasn’t the only problem thart Eleanor encountered too.
Anti-social
Eleanor didn’t expect that Cloud’s anti-social behavior would be so extreme. Cloud would actively try to avoid Eleanor and her three children “He wouldn’t interact with us, and if you tried to go over to him, he’d just hide in the corner,” Eleanor shared.
Cloud had also found a perfect spot to hide in his new house too.
Hiding
“He found a spot in my laundry room next to my dryer. There were things next to it, and he knocked it all over—it was almost like he was trying to get behind the dryer to hide. He stayed like that for over 24 hours,” Eleanor said.
Naturally, she was concerned about Cloud’s behavior but Eleanor decided not to force him out of his shell. Instead, she waited for Cloud to get comfortable. But will Cloud be able to adjust?
Affection
It wasn’t until Eleanor was quietly doing her laundry when Cloud suddenly approached her. Eleanor said she suddenly felt Cloud’s paw touch her feet and what he did next shocked her.
“I looked down, and he was swiping at me to try and sit down and pet him. So I sat down and I started petting him, and he started giving me kisses, and anytime I stopped, he would swipe his paw at me again,” Eleanor shared.
Slowly opening-up
Eleanor felt relieved at how Cloud was finally gradually opening up to them. “Every day from that point, he just got better and better and better.” Eleanor said.
But will Cloud consistently get better?
Some dilemmas
Of course, Cloud would still get shy sometimes. Whenever Cloud would use the bathroom outside, Eleanor had to escort him back in. But after a while, Cloud would go back inside on his own.
Eleanor didn’t want to take all the credit for Cloud’s recovery, she also wanted to show her appreciation towards her six dogs! She felt as though her six dogs were actually the ones responsible for teaching Cloud how to be a proper dog. Sadly, Eleanor couldn’t keep Cloud...
Saying Goodbye
With six dogs already in her care, Eleanor thought that it would be too much to get another one. As much as she’d like to keep Cloud, she knew it would be better if he were adopted by another family. Soon enough, Eleanor was able to find another set of parents for Cloud.
But will Cloud be alright?
Forever home
Eleanor met a couple that was interested in adopting Cloud. At first, Eleanor was concerned that Cloud might be uncomfortable again, but it seems Eleanor was wrong.
“The husband leaned down to pet him, and Cloud got up and gave him a big kiss in the face, and the husband was like, ‘All right. We can do this. We’ve got to take him. We’re definitely taking him,'” Eleanor shared. Cloud now lives with his new family and is as social as any other dog.