Skinny Dog Who Collapsed At Shelter Is Learning To Love Life Again

She looks so happy now.

A black, bone-thin pit bull with severe heartworm isn't usually the kind of dog who gets a second glance at an animal shelter. Much less, a second chance.

Maybe Tee Tee knew her odds of getting out of the Fulton County Animal Services in Atlanta, Georgia, were slim when she arrived.

Because Tee Tee was no sooner brought into the shelter last month when she promptly collapsed.

Friends to the Forlorn

Then again, she had other more obvious reasons for being unable to stand on her own feet.

Hell had been at her heels her whole life. Tee Tee came to the shelter as a stray, weighing a ghostly 32 pounds - a healthy weight for her should be around 55 pounds.

Friends to the Forlorn

While her past remains a mystery, her future seemed painfully clear. Tee Tee was unlikely to ever leave the Fulton County shelter.

That is until Jason Flatt, founder of Friends to the Forlorn Pitbull Rescue, got wind of her.

"She couldn't stand," he tells The Dodo. "She couldn't walk. She couldn't lift her head."

And inch by painstaking inch, Tee Tee's leash on life began to grow a little longer.

Friends to the Forlorn

First, an emergency trip to the veterinarian, where Tee Tee underwent a battery of tests that revealed she had severe heartworm.

Friends to the Forlorn

"As soon as we got her to our vet, it's almost as if she knew," Flatt says. "We gave her some fluids and the next thing you know, she was able to stand."

Then it was off to an emergency foster home, where Tee Tee would get an equally vital dose of stability and, perhaps for the first time in her life, a sense of family.

Friends to the Forlorn

It's only been a month since she arrived at the shelter with the slimmest of hopes. But today, Tee has put on weight - she's already nearly 40 pounds. And she's made friends, too.

Friends to the Forlorn

She's also gotten adept at stealing her foster father's favorite chair.

Friends to the Forlorn

But so far, her greatest talent is proving that, when it comes to a shelter dog, there's no such thing as never.

Friends to the Forlorn

Think you might be the last link in this chain of compassion? When she's fully recovered, Tee Tee is going to need a forever home. In the meantime, you can help her recovery by making a donation here.

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