Stray Dog Was Seen Living on Porch of Abandoned House–Until 2 Humans Gave Her a Forever Home

Illustration - Annette Shaff/Shutterstock

From the archives: This story was last updated in September 2019.

In the small town of Gage, Oklahoma, it had become a regular sight: a big brown dog sitting on the porch of an abandoned house. While the dog wasn’t aggressive at all, it was definitely fearful of humans and would scamper off whenever anyone approached.

Thanks to some kindhearted people in the neighborhood who put out water and leftover food, the dog was managing to survive. But closer inspection revealed mange, the result of microscopic mites feeding on the dog’s fur, a symptom common in stray dogs.

As luck would have it, this dog would cross paths with a local rescue organization, WOOF Pet Rescue, in nearby Woodward, whose mission is to “give abandoned and otherwise unwanted dogs and cats a second chance.” In 2015, they got a report about the neglected dog from local residents and wanted to help.

When they arrived, they saw a scared, malnourished dog with large patches of fur missing. They tried putting out treats and eventually ended up using a dog snare to catch her.

As the WOOF staff wrote on Facebook, “She has clearly had a litter fairly recently, but there were no signs of any pups where we found her, and she is in need of some serious veterinary care, it will be a long road ahead of her.” With no collar or any other identifying information, they decided to name her Blossom “in the hope that she will blossom like a flower as we work to see if we can bring her back to health,” they wrote.

While Blossom clearly wasn’t used to human contact, she warmed up quickly to the volunteers as they fed her, bathed her, and generally showered her with love. A touching video that WOOF posted on YouTube, showing her first bath with a vet tech at the Woodward Animal Hospital, demonstrates just how far she had come toward trusting people within the first 24 hours after rescue.

However, the staff quickly realized that her skin was in bad condition and would need some intensive treatment to heal.

Blossom’s sad story had attracted a lot of social media attention, and her bath video (set to the tune of Joe Cocker’s “You Are So Beautiful”) has had almost half a million views to date. Not bad for a dog that had been almost completely invisible.

Once they'd got Blossom clean, the vets needed to look at her internal health, especially for dangerous diseases such as heartworm, which stray dogs often have. Miraculously, Blossom was healthy, with no signs of infection or internal diseases. As WOOF wrote in a Facebook update, “Her body condition should improve now she is on a good diet, just being fed and cared for properly will make a lot of difference.”

Not only that, but WOOF was happy to note that “She was extremely well behaved at Woodward Animal Hospital and seemed to enjoy meeting new people.” After some difficult times on the streets, things were looking up for this dog. “[Blossom] truly is starting to live up to her name.”

But all this was nothing compared to what was coming her way. At first, Blossom just got used to life at the shelter, getting socialized with volunteers and learning how to walk on a leash with the shelter manager. But Gary and Sarah Wolfington, the couple who had helped bring Blossom in from the streets, just couldn’t let this one go and decided to adopt her.

“We hope that this is the final chapter in the story of Blossom’s rescue,” they posted on Facebook. “She has gone to an incredibly caring home and we are confident that she will be loved for the rest of her life and live out her doggy days with a smile on her face.”

For all those people who had followed her journey from day one of the rescue and had shared her story or even donated money for her care, WOOF posted a touching montage on YouTube that showed her incredible progress and cozy new life in her forever home with the Wolfingtons. As they put it, “Blossom finally learned to smile.”