If ever there was a portrait of despair, it was a dog standing in the cold driving rain in front of a North Carolina convenience store.
She seemed to have given up on everything. Even staying dry.
But others refused to give up on her. In fact, Valinda Cortez was still in her pajamas and flip-flops that Sunday morning when she stopped at the store and spotted the drenched dog.
“When I got out of the car, my heart sank,” Cortez tells The Dodo. “This poor baby had been out in the rain and cold for a long time. She was freezing.”
Nor did she move when the woman offered her hand.
So Cortez decided not to move either. She stayed in that parking lot with the shivering dog for more than an hour, gradually earning her trust.
“Her hair was wet and matted,” Cortez says. “Her front leg was cut. Her eyes were obviously infected. My heart was breaking.
She eventually called her friend, Sue Massi, a woman who also volunteers to save local strays.
Massi got to the scene in 20 minutes, where they met an animal control officer from Buncombe County.
“That picture of her is perfect. Such a difference,” Cortez says. “My heart is happy.”
Soon, Cassie will be looking for a real home. Think that could be you? View Cassie’s shelter profile here.