ORLANDO, Fla. _ A dog named Miracle who survived more than three weeks buried in the rubble of Hurricane Dorian is now thriving on a special diet, CBD oil and the bountiful love of three Palm Beach County kids whose family adopted him.
"He is so sweet," said Briana Beaty, whose family was chosen from some 10,000 applicants worldwide wanting to give Miracle a home. "His favorite place to sleep is in a sort of hug with my middle daughter."
That would be 5-year-old Kate. She and sisters Jayne, 8, and Clare, 3, like to climb into the same bed each night, all curled around Miracle.
The dog was found in early October pinned under an air-conditioning unit and other debris on Great Abaco in the Bahamas, where Hurricane Dorian brought 185 mph winds and a wide swath of apocalyptic devastation. Miracle, as rescuers called him, had survived by drinking rain water that pooled around him.
Emaciated, anemic and riddled with parasites, he was too weak to stand. He was flown to Big Dog Ranch Rescue in Loxahatchee, which in all evacuated nearly 200 dogs from the island. At Big Dog, staff spent five weeks getting Miracle strong enough for adoption.
This week, Miracle weighed in at a healthy 40 pounds _ more than double his weight when he was rescued.
"He still has his little (issues) that he's working through," said Beaty, founder of Palm Beach Moms, a social media platform. "We feed him a special food because his tummy is really, really sensitive. Changing his food made a huge difference."
Miracle is still fearful and nervous _ as you'd expect, Beaty said, after such a trauma. He cowers from loud noises, retreats from other dogs and often wants to cut short his walks if a large truck rumbles past. CBD oil has helped ease his stress, Beaty said.
And he seems to adore children. Already he has visited each Beaty girl's classroom.
"If a kid walked by and didn't pet him, he would sit down, like: 'I'll give you another chance if you want to come back. Perhaps you didn't see me,'" Beaty said. 'He really came out of his shell. It was the first time we really got to see his personality."
Miracle has undergone an initial round of heartworm treatment and is expected to undergo the second and final round later this month. The treatment, akin to chemotherapy, can cause vomiting and lethargy.
He'll spend two nights at Big Dog Ranch for the treatment injections _ his first return to the rescue group since his adoption. Meanwhile, the nonprofit organization has continued to take in abandoned and stray dogs from the Bahamas, and, thanks to a $50,000 donation from Heelr _ a pet CBD product manufacturer _ it now has "The Miracle Fund" to help pay for urgent veterinary care and transport of other dogs.
"Our greatest joy is when we take Miracle places and people tell us how his story impacted them," Beaty said. "We'll hear they were thinking of (buying) a golden-doodle from Wisconsin or wherever and instead they decided to adopt a rescue dog. ... I hope lots of people go and get a little Miracle of their own."
