A maggot-ridden and patchy-skinned Jack Russell was rescued by bin men and taken to the vets after being found hidden amongst rubbish bags.
Now, a year on, the dog has completely transformed and is living happily and healthily having been adopted by a veterinary nurse who helped her recover.
The Jack Russell was rushed into the vets where Hayley Lewis worked and it was an instant connection - she knew she was taking the dog home with her.
Read more: Adorable Jack Russell who needed both eyes removed is looking for a forever home
She was found covered in bite wounds and suffering from shock last August, likely having been used as a bait dog.
The waste collectors took the poor near-lifeless animal to Cardiff Dogs Home, who rushed her to Doctor Doolittle’s on Whitchurch Road, where Hayley worked as a veterinary nurse.
The 28-year-old, from Blackwood, told TeamDogs : “She was freezing cold and had puss pouring out of her wounds. She was absolutely covered in maggots, had bruises all over her chest and we thought she’d need her leg amputating.
“We x-rayed her and couldn’t see anything as the swelling was so bad. But it was on that x-ray table that I fell in love with her and knew she would be coming home with me.”
Hayley worked at the vets and a neutering clinic at Cardiff Dogs Home at the time, and had been looking for a small dog to take in. Now, she works at MobiVET.
She’d fostered dogs before, and immediately decided to foster the Jack Russell, who she named Beatrix.
Hayley said: “When Bea came in to work I fell in love with her instantly and said I’d foster her and realistically, I knew she wasn’t going anywhere.
“When she was on the x-ray table she was on really strong pain relief drifting in and out of consciousness. She’d look around until she saw me and would then calm down and go back to sleep.
“I just sat with her and said to my colleagues ‘we need to save her. I love this dog’.”
Luckily, Bea made it through the night on strong pain relief and antibiotics, going home with Hayley to recover the following day.
The veterinary nurse said: “My colleagues were worried about me in case she didn't make it. I was very aware from the start that she may not have done.”
Cardiff Dogs Home raised £6,000 to fund life-saving surgery to fix a fractured front leg and a damaged ligament in her back leg.
Beatrix had a lengthy recovery ahead of her, but within weeks she began trying to walk again.
Now, 12 months on, and six-years-old, she’s a completely different dog to the one who arrived at the vets in a sorry state.
Hayley said: “Despite still being in recovery, and having arthritis, Bea is a really active dog and is always getting up to mischief.
“She loves everyone and we’re training her and trying to socialise her with more dogs.
“She probably won’t live as long as a healthy Jack Russell, but I’m going to give her everything I can whilst she’s with me.”
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