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catbyte

(34,418 posts)
Sun Feb 17, 2019, 05:40 PM Feb 2019

Dog Who Was Chained Up His Whole Life Looks Completely Different Now

That SMILE 😍💕

BY CAITLIN JILL ANDERS

Odin was rescued in October 2018 from a pair of breeders who had completely neglected to care for him and several other dogs. The poor dog had been chained up and ignored, and it showed. He was in absolutely horrendous condition when he was picked up by rescuers from Southern Pines Animal Shelter and Southern Cross Animal Rescue of Mississippi, and they knew they needed to get him to a vet and then into a loving foster home as quickly as possible.



snip

When Odin first arrived in his new foster home, he had no idea what to do or how to act. He seemed incredibly confused, as if he’d never had that much freedom to walk around and explore before. It seemed as though Odin had never been allowed to just be a dog before, and that broke his new foster mom’s heart.





I honestly don’t know if Odin had ever been inside a house before,” Schelkopf said. “He sniffed around the whole house and kept looking back at me like, ‘What’s the catch?’ For weeks after I got him, he would just lay in a spot. I couldn’t get him to play with toys or act like a ‘normal dog.’”

It took some time, but slowly, Odin began to realize that there was no catch. This woman had agreed to take him in and love him, even if just for a little while, and for that, Odin was eternally grateful.



Initially, Schelkopf was only planning on fostering Odin — but it soon became clear that Odin had found his forever home, and he wasn’t going anywhere.

“The second night I had brought him home, he was brave enough to come to bed with me,” Schelkopf said. “He climbed onto the bed and just threw his bony body on me, looked up at me with such heartfelt eyes and sighed in such a loving embrace. I knew Odin had finally found where he needed to be.”

Once Odin officially became a foster fail, there was still the matter of getting his health in order. He was such a mess when he first arrived at his new home, but with a whole lot of care and love, Odin slowly began to transform …



… and soon, he looked like a completely different dog, and exactly like the fluffy, confident Alaskan malamute he was always meant to be.



snip



“Odin is such a fun, loving and goofy guy,” Schelkopf said. “He has become completely accustomed to the spoiled life.”



https://www.thedodo.com/close-to-home/neglected-alaskan-malamute-looks-completely-different-now

13 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Dog Who Was Chained Up His Whole Life Looks Completely Different Now (Original Post) catbyte Feb 2019 OP
There are some wonderful people in this world. Hoyt Feb 2019 #1
Unbelievable transformation to a happy, healthy dog. democratisphere Feb 2019 #2
Now these are stories I love to hear!! Fabulous!! InAbLuEsTaTe Feb 2019 #3
OMG! red dog 1 Feb 2019 #4
You're welcome. I hope the Siamese cat in the first photo found a loving forever home, too. catbyte Feb 2019 #6
I love Odin. democrank Feb 2019 #5
Love that face and smile! bearssoapbox Feb 2019 #7
God bless the folks who saved this dog . . . Roadside Attraction Feb 2019 #8
Wow, just wow iluvtennis Feb 2019 #9
wow JHan Feb 2019 #10
It's wonderful to see the transformation jls4561 Feb 2019 #11
Some people don't deserve to live. Duppers Feb 2019 #12
Amazing, heartwarming transformation. Shanti Mama Feb 2019 #13

red dog 1

(27,837 posts)
4. OMG!
Sun Feb 17, 2019, 06:28 PM
Feb 2019

After seeing those first few photos, I never would have guessed that Odin was a Malamute.

Bless those Mississippi rescue organizations and the woman who adopted him.

K&R, thanks for posting, catbyte

Shanti Mama

(1,288 posts)
13. Amazing, heartwarming transformation.
Mon Feb 18, 2019, 05:15 PM
Feb 2019

Sometimes I wish we could see posts like this about children. Analogous scenarios exist. My child was pretty darned malnourished when I adopted him/her. Won't give more details except to say this kiddo walked about three weeks after becoming mine, at 15 months, and though still small is an absolute wonder.

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