16/08/2026
WARNING! The following story is not for the faint of heart.
As a puppy, she was a lively and happy dog, as most all are. She was always happy to see her owner, trusting without question, and loving with all her heart without a second thought.
Wanting to love and be loved in return, no different than any other dog, no different than you, or me.
One day, by all respects no different than any other, her owner approached her...
It was a moment that would change everything.
In her excitement, she jumped up. Her owner was here! She just wanted to play...
But her weight was too much, and her owner fell. The owner was injured, and decided at that moment, that his loving dog must be punished for what she did.
She was dragged out of the house.
A little ways off, there was a tree. A tree she knew well. A tree she had run around many times when she played outside.
The tree grew larger as she was dragged closer. She didn't know what she had done wrong.
She didn't know what was coming 😞
A rope was tied around the tree.
The other end, to her collar.
We can only imagine the words that were hurled at her. We can only imagine what else may have happened.
The owner left, back into the house. She was left outside, alone, as her punishment.
A day went by.
Was the punishment over yet?
A second day passed. Was she even being fed? We'll never know.
The third day came. Surely this was enough punishment for what was only an accident? She hoped she could come back inside soon.
Alone outside, the hours rolled by slowly.
The days began to add up. Soon it would be an entire week.
She didn't deserve this.
As she hoped to be let off the rope that kept her imprisoned in her small, dirty area, the days had turned into a week, and then another.
The weeks turned into a month.
Still, she hoped to be let free again.
A few months passed. She was still outside. She was still on the rope. Where were the people that were supposed to love her?
The seasons were changing now. It was starting to get colder outside.
How long could the punishment last? Who could so callously tie up a dog outside day and night without a care?
As winter came, no relief was given. She would have to endure and suffer through the cold.
The months were piling up.
Piling, and piling, and piling.
As unthinkable as it was, the months turned into a year.
To call it abuse would be an understatement. The cold winters. The blazing heat of the hot summers. The rain, the snow, the misery...she suffered through all of it, alone.
It wasn't the months that were adding up now.
They were years.💔
Once in a while a new face would show up at the house.
"Would this new face be the one that saves me?" she wondered.
But as the years went by, no one ever came for her. She wasn't rehomed. She wasn't loved.
And still, her heart never changed. She still had a heart made of love, and hoped someday that love would be returned.
As you would expect, her health greatly deteriorated over the years. Her ears were in pain. They itched, and scratching them only made the pain worse to the point she would scream in pain.
There was no relief. It became harder for her to walk around. She would never understand why, but the reason is that a tumor had begun to grow on her back right leg.
How many years ago did it first appear?
We'll never know.
This is a true story. One we've only recently been made aware of.
Unfortunately, this true story began over 10 years ago. 😭
Imagine everything that's happened in your life in the last 10 years.
Imagine everything that's happened in this community.
The good, the bad. The highs, the lows. All the changes that've taken place.
It's an amount of time the human brain can only process by slapping a number on it.
All that time, and she was only a few miles from all of us, tied up to the tree that served as her prison.
All that time. At what point did she give up hope?
At what point did she not only give up hoping for love, but forget what love is altogether?
Or did she never stop hoping? Did she always remember what love is?
A decade into her unjust sentence. And then...
And then!
A day came. Just like the day her nightmare began, it was a day no different than any other she had come to expect.
A man came to the property. He was there to pay the owner's son for some work on his truck.
As he paid the man, he noticed something off to the side.
No doubt his eyes widened as he saw her. Moved by pity at the sight of her neglect, he asked why she was tied up to the tree.
"That's just a dumb dog," he was told.
The owners were now in a retirement home. The son couldn't have cared less for her.
The man could see she was emaciated. At this point, no one was even feeding her.
It was obvious her days were numbered.
He went over to her. When was the last time someone had paid her any attention?
She came right up to him and let him pet her.
The man was horrified at what he was seeing, and at the story he was told.
But after all the years, her heart was still there, wanting to love someone, and wanting to be loved in return.
The man left, heartbroken and in disbelief. He knew something had to be done.
Unable to keep her himself, the man soon returned to the property.
He fed her. He gave her blankets. He showed her love and kept her alive. It was no doubt the only love she could ever remember experiencing.
The man knew she needed more help than he could provide. His family knew as well, and together they began reaching out to the community for help...
•
•
Last week, we were going through our messages. We are only a small, foster-based rescue at Hero Tails. We get messages and emails every day regarding dogs that need help, dogs that need rehoming, about situations we wish we had the time, manpower, and funding to help out with.
With such limited funding from the community (thank you to everyone that donates!), we generally try to help out with the most extreme cases we hear about.
Mo. Angel. Brownie. Brock. Cleo. Riley. These are just a few of our dogs for whom no help was coming. There are many others, too, that weren't officially surrendered to us.
While we admittedly don't always respond to every message we get, we have heard the same sentence repeatedly told to us the past few months.
"You are the only ones that responded to us."
Let us point out that there are a handful of amazing rescues in this county. And there are individuals who act off the radar all the time. There's no question about it.
But that feedback serves to highlight how much the need for help in this community outweighs the resources available.
So when the daughter of the man reached out to us and told us this dog's story, we knew we had to take action.
This past weekend, we met with the man. He was kindly giving her a bath at a local pet business. His heart and love for her was huge. She came right up to us, as friendly as any dog could be.
We only have a small team of fosters. There usually aren't openings for emergencies. But one of our fosters was willing to take on a second dog for a few days until a long-term foster could be found.
The man surrendered her to us. We are as grateful to him for saving her as he is to us. He is the Hero on which her rescue hinged.
And of course, we are grateful to our amazing foster family that stepped up for her.
She has had multiple issues treated at Animalkind Vet Clinic, and her tumor will need to be surgically removed ASAP.
Please, help us help her. We need financial support from the community to meet her needs.
•
•
👉🏻 Venmo: -AnimalSanctuary
👉🏻 Paypal:
•
•
Every penny we receive goes to the dogs. We still need to cover some of Cleo's costs as well.
Can you help us by donating $50, $75, or $100?
Any amount is appreciated and helpful.
This is one of the most extreme cases of abuse and neglect we've ever seen.
And like many of you, we've seen a lot.
Please donate as generously as you can, and rest knowing your tax-deductible donation is going to the medical and food needs of the dogs in our care.
🩷WE ARE LOOKING FOR A LONG-TERM FOSTER FOR HER🩷
She needs a quiet place, preferably with no other dogs so she has some peace, where she can rest and rehabilitate. Are you willing to open up your heart and home to this innocent soul? Will you be the one to show her what it means to be loved after her lifetime of abuse and neglect?
We don't know how long she has left. We will find out shortly if her tumor is cancerous.
She's in good spirits, and would make a great friend for you. ❤️
Please DONATE, and please send us a PRIVATE MESSAGE if you'd like to join our small team of fosters and give this sweet girl a home until she's adopted!
And of course, please SHARE this post so we can get as much help for her as possible!
Everyone, meet Amy! 🤩❤️
