Video: See Neglected, Flea-Covered Puppy’s Transformation After Hard-Won Rescue, Adoption

For Immediate Release:
June 21, 2024

Contact:
Moira Colley 202-483-7382

Windsor, N.C. –

PETA’s fieldworkers have seen it all, but even they were shocked by this little black pup’s condition. An emotional new video follows Dave’s story—from being chained outside and neglected to his dramatic rescue, recovery, and adoption.

When PETA fieldworkers found Dave, he was underweight and covered in mange, with one of the worst flea infestations they’d ever seen. Despite his obvious suffering, his owners refused to seek veterinary care for him or turn him over to PETA. Instead, they hid Dave when PETA called law-enforcement officials, and he remained missing through fieldworkers’ frequent attempts to check on him. After two weeks, fieldworkers found Dave in the same spot he’d been in before and in even worse shape—but this time, police were able to seize him. He was taken to receive veterinary care and transferred to PETA to be neutered on one of the group’s mobile clinics. Thanks to Reba’s Rescue, a local partner shelter, Dave—now named Roux—was adopted by a loving family determined to write “a better ending” to his story. Now, he spends his days playing with toys and snuggling with his family and his shiny black coat shows no signs of the trauma he endured.

Dave the dog before being rescued, enduring a flea infestation — Prior to his rescue, Dave suffered from an extreme flea infestation. Credit: PETA

Dave the rescued dog, now named Roux, with his new family — Prior to his rescue, Dave suffered from an extreme flea infestation. Credit: PETA

“Dave has found a wonderful home, but countless other dogs like him are chained outside 24/7 without adequate food, water, shelter, or social interaction,” says PETA Senior Vice President Daphna Nachminovitch. “PETA urges everyone to keep dogs indoors with the rest of the family and to lobby for bans on unattended tethering, which will help ensure that they aren’t chained outside like old bicycles.”

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on X, Facebook, or Instagram.