“This is what happiness looks like.”
Roscoe attempted to keep his spirits up when his family abandoned him in an abandoned house.
They kept the tiny dog warm by tying him to a box with nothing but straw and dropping by once a week to feed him. Roscoe thought that someone would come for him one day, even after his food and water ran out.
Last week, though, when heavy snow began to fall in southern Illinois, the small dog knew he might not make it through the night.
After all, someone was keeping an eye on the puppy.
Roscoe’s plight was reported to the Effingham County Animal Control and Shelter on Saturday by a concerned person. If Officer Vanessa Skavlem and Warden Michelle Shoot were to save the small dog’s life, they needed to act quickly.
“They phoned us because it had just snowed the night before, and it was a significant amount of snow and quite chilly for southern Illinois,” Skavlem told The Dodo. “Because he weighed less than 10 pounds, he was shivering to death.”
As soon as Roscoe saw Skavlem and Shoot jump out of the automobile, he knew he was finally secure. “He came sprinting out because he was so delighted to see us,” Skavlem recalled.
They loaded Roscoe into the car, wrapping him with a blanket. Roscoe couldn’t hide his pleasure as he felt warm for the first time in weeks: “He was just so thrilled, you could tell, “Skavlem threw in his two cents. “He’d just moan and whine and whine and whine and whine and whine and whine and whine and scream
The dog finally settled into Shoot’s arms with a huge smile on his face after eating his rescuers’ supper of biscuits and gravy.
Skavlem took a snapshot of the relieved puppy at the time, which she shared on Facebook with the caption: “This is what happiness looks like when you rescue a tiny dog from life on a chain in the frigid snow.”
Roscoe now spends his days at the shelter, where he is secure and comfortable. Skavlem explained, “We have a warm atmosphere in there, and he has all his tiny blankies.” “When he first walks into the office, he wiggles and leaps up on you.”
Roscoe continues to whine with delight, just as he did the day he was rescued – especially when his rescuers are around. “He makes this wonderful whine,” Skavlem explained, “almost as if he’s communicating to you.” “It just feels like he has emotions and is appreciative,” says the narrator.