We often think of animal abuse in terms of neglected and abandoned animals who struggle for food and are bone thin.
But this isn’t always the case. Bolinha was abandoned as a puppy at a gas station in Brazil. From that moment on, he had no choice but to live a life on the streets.
For 13 years, he lived outside a restaurant next to the gas station, surviving on the scraps of food thrown out back.
But as Bolinha grew older, his obesity increased and his health became increasingly worse. He began to have difficulty breathing and things eventually got so bad, he could hardly move.
Things went so far that the restaurant began to treat him as a local ‘attraction’. People gathered to cruelly mock and laugh at the oversized dog — and no one seemed to realize he was desperately in need of help.
Bolinha’s condition was so severe he could barely breathe nor move. He simply laid down in a puddle of mud and hoped someone would have the heart to help him.
One day, one such person got wind about Bolinha. He showed up on site and sure enough found the obese dog sitting amidst piles of junk and garbage. Bolinha weighed close to 80 pounds.
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Help At Last
The man picked up Bolinha and drove him to Organización de Protección Animal an animal welfare organization.
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Once there, Bolinha got what may have been his very first bath ever. And from his reaction, he sure seemed to appreciate it!
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The animal rescuers gave him love and care — something Bolinha had never known before.
Road to Recovery
The dog was then placed on a strict regime to help him drop the excess weight. Rescuers had Bolinha train in different ways. He ran on an animal treadmill filled with water, for instance, and he was also placed on a strict diet.
It was a long battle, but step by step, his condition began to improve.
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His hard work soon paid off — he dropped close to 30 lbs in less than a year and became happier than he’d ever been before.
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Best of all, Bolinha soon also got a new home where he was overloaded with love.
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Promising Future
His new family continued to help him lose weight and gave him all the love and care he deserved!
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Just look at his incredible transformation — Bolinha certainly knew how to silence those cruel people who mocked him over the years.
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I’m so glad Bolinha’s tale has such a happy ending. All dogs deserve to be treated with love and compassion and get the help they need to do well and thrive.
No dog should ever have to endure bullying from cruel, heartless people. Please share if you agree.
