Animal rescuers see some horrible things. But sometimes, the level of cruelty is astounding even to those who think they have seen it all.

This dog had been so cruelly treated, so horribly abused, that NorCal Bully Breed Rescue couldn’t turn their back on him. They wrote about that abuse in the Facebook post begging for a foster so that they can save him.

“This sweet boy was found running down the road with a chain attached to his neck. It
wasn’t attached to a collar. It wasn’t attached around his neck.  It was attached THROUGH his neck. Someone took the time to pierce a large whole in his chest/neck area then punched a carabiner through it, tethering him with a chain.

He was literally pierced and tethered.  It is beyond understanding. It doesn’t make any sense. I see horrible things all the time. I’m hardly ever shocked anymore. But this was beyond shocking.”

He has been named Steve, and he is at a shelter a few hours south of Sacramento. He was found running in the streets with the chain dragging behind him. He is a very lucky dog on two counts. First that he managed to escape from whoever had kept him in such an abusive situation, and second that he was found by someone before his chain caught on something, which would certainly have killed him, slowly and painfully.

The shelter shaved him, cleaned him up, took off the chain, started him on antibiotics and fed him. In addition to the pierced skin, he had also been starved. Steve is like many dogs — in spite of the horrible cruelty, he is still sweet and loving. He is enjoying the attention he’s getting from those around him, although he’s a bit shy.

Steve is only around three years old, and he may be a shepherd mix. His wounds will heal. And NorCal rescue wants to help him. They wrote that:

“We want to give him a big giant fluffy bed, some really good food, and a ton of love. But in order to do so, we need a foster home. We need someone who’s willing to take on a broken boy, and help make him whole again.”

Fostering a dog is a wonderful thing to do. But NorCal doesn’t beat around the bush with their fosters. About Steve, they warn that they don’t know how he is around dogs, cats or kids. They do offer to provide an indoor kennel to keep him separated from pets while he’s inside the house, and they will provide a ten foot square outdoor kennel to help keep him separated from household pets while he’s outside.

They will provide a crate, food, bed, toys, treats, bowls, leashes, collars, and anything else that is needed to care for him. They provide all veterinary services. Once he’s had a chance to relax, around two weeks, they will help introduce him to the foster’s existing pets. And if he has any behavioral problems, they will supply a trainer who will go to the foster’s home to help.

NorCal writes:

“MOST of our fosters never meet our dogs. It’s actually quite simple to keep them separate. That’s how most of us are able to foster, since MOST of us have a dog that’s “not good with other dogs”.

For NorCal to save Steve and other dogs like him, they need foster homes. In fact, for rescues all over the world, foster homes are what can make the difference between life and death for dogs. Literally.

 

If you are willing to foster Steve (or any other dog), the foster application is at:  norcalbullybreedrescue.com. They require foster homes to be local to Sacramento. That’s because Steve will need to go to their veterinarian and for other reasons listed on Steve’s Facebook thread.

 

Here is the rather long, but very important information about the responsibility involved in fostering a dog:

“Fostering is quite a bit like adopting (only less permanent), but we still need to be sure that the potential foster home is a good environment for a shelter dog. We need to know where the potential foster lives. They need to be local to us. This one is a deal breaker, and so many times people get frustrated with us thinking it’s because we don’t want to be put out. That’s not the case at all. Our fosters need to be close enough for us to do a yard check, but also close enough to bring their fosters to vet appointments, adoption events, fundraisers, and meet and greets with potential adopters. Living outside of a 50 mile radius of Sacramento makes all of the above nearly impossible. We also need our foster dogs to be close enough to us that if they begin experiencing behavioral issues with their foster dog, we can send our trainer to work with them.

The MAIN reason that we are so selective with our fosters is because once we pull a dog, they become OURS. Meaning if it just “isn’t working out” at said foster home, we have to take the dog back. Back where, you ask? Well certainly not back to the shelter. And we can’t take any more on at our home. So where do they go? They don’t. They don’t “go.” A foster home has to be 100% committed to fostering a dog. Not willing to “try it out” or “give it a shot”. We have no plan B in place if the foster bails. So the foster can’t bail. It’s a huge commitment. If dogs need to be kept separate and crate rotated, that’s what has to happen. If a cat is being chased, the dog isn’t allowed around the cat. If things get chewed up, then things get chewed up. If a foster dog pees on the carpet, it pees on the carpet.

Shelter dogs aren’t going to come out of there perfect dogs that have no issues at all. They usually DO have issues. And we love them through those issues. We clean up the pee. We throw away chewed up shoes. We crate rotate. We get frustrated. But we don’t kick them out. That’s already happened to them once, and can’t happen again. Everyone wants to help, but our fosters have to be willing to go the distance. We provide EVERYTHING needed to foster a dog. Crate, food, bed, bowls, toys, leash, collar, treats, EVERYTHING. Not every rescue does this. We do it because we know it’s not easy to foster. In fact it can be really difficult sometimes. But in the end, the payoff is absolutely priceless.”

There is more information on his Facebook post.

If you are not local to Sacramento, but touched by Steve’s story, reach out to a local rescue. They, also, are desperately in need of committed foster homes.