Stories of neglect and abuse never fail to fill our hearts with anguish. But occasionally, desperate situations are redeemed and the perpetrators are brought to justice. Meet Rocco, a beautiful dog from Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, who was tethered to a dog house in an abandoned yard, starving, with little hope of survival. Until the neighbors got involved.
On Nov. 18, 2015, an emaciated Rocco received the help he needed just in the nick of time. The dog’s owners had neglected to feed him or provide him with clean drinking water. As the disturbing photographs show, the dog was filthy, exhausted, and hanging on for dear life, or rather, dear life was hanging on to him. For all intents and purposes, Rocco had given up.
According to
El Nuevo Dia, the local police received a number of concerned calls about Rocco’s inadequate living conditions, and as the calls increased in frequency and desperation, a search warrant was issued. The scene that greeted the unwitting police officers when they arrived was enough to floor any compassionate human being; Rocco, malnourished and on the verge of complete collapse, was lying on the ground in his own filth with no food or water nearby. Nobody was home; nobody was answerable to his condition.
Shocked police officers quickly seized Rocco and took him to a local veterinarian for assessment.
Appalled by the extent of Rocco’s neglect, vets immediately saw that the dog was so weak and malnourished that he could no longer move his limbs or hold up his own body weight. They feared the worst, that Rocco may be suffering multiple organ failures and have dangerous parasites that threatened his life. However, this pup was stronger than he looked.
A local animal rescue organization named OICA (Oficiales Investigadores de Crueldad de Animales) stepped in to oversee Rocco’s care. According to
Life With Dogs, the group’s president, Iris Quiñones, felt optimistic: “[The dog] is responding well to treatment,” she said. “He was given fluids, doesn’t have mange and is heartworm negative.” This was very good news. “He is a fighter,” Quiñones asserted. Adequate nutrition and the love and care he'd long been missing would work wonders in helping this poor, neglected creature to recover.
The police opened an urgent investigation. Shortly thereafter,
Tu Noticia PR rightly named and shamed the dog’s abusers as 39-year-old María Teresa González Escudero and 29-year-old Carlos Colón Concepción. Both owners were duly arrested and charged with third-degree animal abuse. Concepción was fined a hefty $50,000 and González was slapped with a $25,000 fine for her complicity. Both failed to come up with the money, so both animal abusers were incarcerated.
After Rocco’s story was covered on
So Share This, comments from emotionally affected readers flooded in. “This totally disgusts me,” one person contributed. “Animals are pure souls.” Another was moved by the neighbor’s intervention, saying: “I’m glad the neighbor [got] proper aid for this dog.” Others were hurt by the knowledge of mindless animal cruelty and prayed for change: “Please God, change the hearts of their abusers,” one reader commented.
Rocco was taken under OICA’s wing before enjoying a lengthy and thoroughly well-deserved “dog holiday” at the
Manada Hotel in the mountains of Trujillo Alto. The Manada claims to be “the largest canine park in Puerto Rico” and provides short- and long-term “cageless” residence for dogs of all shapes and sizes. The awesome hotel fell in love with sweet Rocco and became truly invested in this beautiful, gentle creature who suffered through so much.
As of 2017, Rocco has found his permanent home in the loving arms of a woman named
Tammy, who adores her new friend every bit as much as he deserves. Some stories do have a happy ending.
