Abused, abandoned dog gets a promise from rescue—then comes the moment

A dog dumped on the side of the road with internal injuries due to abuse has found a loving new home thanks to dedicated rescuers who made a promise to her.

Barking Mad Dog Rescue helps abused and abandoned dogs from Romania to find a new home in the United Kingdom, and one particular story has shattered hearts across the internet.

As team member Hilary told Newsweek, Romania is “a country where there is great need of help” for dogs, as attitudes towards animals can be “harsh.”

“If a dog is in need, or pets need veterinary treatment, we are the only place to turn. Abandonment has increased again since COVID, plus the halting of spay campaigns all over meant so many backward steps—years of work undone, especially with strays,” Hilary said.

In April, team leader Gea was driving to the shelter when she spotted a small black and white dog on the side of the road, who appeared to have been dumped—and she dropped everything to help her.

Hilary told Newsweek that Alice the dog was brought to their smaller shelter, where Gea’s parents live with their more vulnerable dogs, and explained: “This is a basic village house with no inside bathroom nor hot water, yet the dogs are so well looked after and loved.”

“Alice was wormed, treated for ticks and fleas and given decent food”—but it became evident there was something more going on with Alice’s health.

After a thorough check-up, including X-rays, Alice was found to have inflamed intestines, gas in the lungs and broken ribs, which Hilary said is “very common in rescued dogs, [and] is usually from being kicked.” There were also stones found in her intestines, which the rescue believes she had probably been eating as she was so hungry.

Alice’s story was shared to Barking Mad Dog Rescue’s Facebook page, along with a video showing the sweet pup nuzzling up to her rescuer, now safe from all harm.

And along that video, in a caption, the rescue made a promise.

“Who knows what awful things this sweet girl experienced before we found her,” they wrote. “She will recover over time. We have promised her that nothing like this will ever happen to her again. She will only ever know love going forward.”

The video had a massive reaction online, with animal lovers from across the world descending to give support to Alice and the rescue, awarding it more than 100,000 likes and thousands of comments.

“It breaks my heart to read this sort of thing. So glad this wee sweetheart has a happy life to look forward to,” one wrote, another saying it “breaks my heart to know that she suffered like that.”

“How could anyone not want her?” another asked, as one said: “Dear little soul, thanks so much for looking after her.”

And as one put it: “In safe hands now, poor little girl.”

There were also plenty of comments from people interested in adopting Alice once she was ready for a forever home—and as Hilary told Newsweek, that forever home may have been found.

“Alice has had multiple adoption offers and is now reserved for a family in the U.K.,” she revealed. “She needs some more time healing but is really on the mend.

“There is still a small area in her lungs that is cloudy but reducing. Otherwise, she is fab.”

While Barking Mad is based in Romania, stray and abandoned dogs ending up in shelters is a worldwide issue: in the United States, 5.8 million dogs and cats entered shelters in 2024 alone, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA).

Each year, around 4.2 million shelter animals are adopted into new homes: 2 million dogs and 2.2 million cats.

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