At a crowded municipal shelter in Fresno, California, a frail, three-month-old puppy waited quietly in his kennel. His body was nearly hairless, ravaged by mange and inflamed by painful skin infections. Bright purple streaks covered his dry, scaly skin—an eerie sight that made his story even more mysterious. Whoever once cared for him had abandoned him when he became sick, leaving him to face the world alone.
The shelter was overwhelmed, struggling with limited space and few resources. Dogs with visible health problems rarely found new homes in time. But even in his suffering, the little puppy seemed to hold on to the smallest hope that someone might notice him.
A Lifesaving Decision
That hope arrived when Neda Saghafi, founder of Simba’s Paw Dog Rescue, came across his photo online. His sad green eyes and the strange purple markings stopped her in her tracks.
“When I saw his picture posted on Facebook, my heart just sank,” Saghafi told The Dodo. “I knew I had to rescue this dog.”…