“He was only skin and bones …”
By Lily Feinn
Published on April 3, 2025 at 2:52 PM
On a quiet stretch of wooded road near Elin Pelin, Bulgaria, Stilyana Gerova’s car broke down. Gerova pulled over to change her tire, not knowing her vehicle trouble would soon save a little life.
On the side of the road, Gerova spotted a frail puppy running around with something brown looped around his neck.
The pup had been looking for food in the garbage and had gotten tangled in a KFC takeout bag.
“I found him near the road where there is a train station in the forest,” Gerova told The Dodo. “He was only skin and bones — very hungry and afraid.”
https://volume.thedodo.com/embed/73f4a5b5d?autoplay=true&loop=true&placement=article&player_type=chorus&tracking=article:lede&privacy_consent=allFacebook/Breed Love Bulgaria
Gerova, an animal rights activist who runs the rescue Breed Love Bulgaria, was the perfect person to help. She jumped into action, securing the distressed dog, and loaded him into her car.
“Unfortunately, this is everyday life in Bulgaria,” Breed Love Bulgaria wrote on Facebook. “Dogs are unwanted and then simply abandoned.”
The puppy, later named Zaki, joined over 200 dogs and 80 cats being cared for at the rescue. There, Zaki began to open up, showing himself to be social, friendly and curious.
“[He] approaches people openly and appreciates any attention. His greatest passion is walks, where he happily explores the world,” Breed Love Bulgaria wrote on Instagram. “With his curious and playful nature, he brings a lot of energy and zest for life, but at the same time he also enjoys relaxed cuddles.”
Zaki, who is approximately 1 year old, does well with other dogs and is getting used to cats. His eagerness to learn lends itself to an active family. But really, according to his rescuers, he just needs a “loving person who gives him time and attention.”
Every two or three months, a transport driven by Gerova brings homeless dogs and cats to their foster and adoptive homes at a meeting point in Germany. If you are interested in Zaki, please contact Breed Love Bulgaria to see if he could be a good fit for your family.
“He travels with an EU pet passport and will be microchipped, vaccinated, dewormed, and tested for Mediterranean diseases, parvo, and giardia at the time of departure.”
Gerova’s unlucky flat ended up being just what the sweet Zaki needed to survive, and hopefully, thrive.
To learn more about the adoption process, you can check out Breed Love Bulgaria’s website. To help other abandoned dogs like Zaki, you can make a donation here.
Related
He Lived With A Cheeseball Bucket On His Head For Days — Then Hope Arrived
Just wait until you see his face …
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Little Pink Puppy Gets Confused For A Human Baby Whenever He Goes Out
Then, he started growing peach fuzz 🥹
By Ashley Ortiz
Last August, when Cleft Pup Brigade posted a photo of Harold, a 4-month-old French bulldog, foster mom Andrea felt compelled to take him in. The little guy wasn’t like other pups — he was completely hairless with pink, inflamed skin that required serious care — but Andrea was willing to go the extra mile for him.
“We saw him on their Instagram and immediately fell in love with him,” Andrea told the Dodo in a recent video. “I said, ‘I know that I can get this puppy turned around.’”
Andrea welcomed Harold home, and as she fell more in love with the pup, her heart broke knowing just how much he’d been through in his first few months.
“Harold is not a hairless Frenchie; he just doesn’t have hair because he was rescued from a severe neglect case,” Andrea said. “For him to go from birth to the state he was in, that is just such a concentrated amount of time for a small puppy to be in discomfort.”
Harold was in desperate condition, but he luckily landed a foster family determined to care for him. They immediately started him on a skincare regimen that involved three essential steps.
“We gave him [medicated] baths every other day, and he was, like, so comfortable in the bath. He just likes being warm,” Andrea said. “And then we would slather him with lotion because that was what was gonna help that hair growth. And then we would put T-shirts or sweaters on him just to kind of soak it in extra.”
The resilient pup was grateful for his therapeutic baths and cozy sweaters. Thanks to his foster parents’ tireless care, Harold’s skin quickly improved, and his personality blossomed.
“After a week or two, we started to notice his peach fuzz growing back all over his body,” Andrea said. “It was really quickly after we brought him into our foster care that we could see that he just had this incredible personality. It’s almost like he enjoys making people laugh.”
The only thing Harold loved more than making his foster parents laugh was being nestled in their arms.
“He loves to be held,” Andrea said. “We would take him to a lot of places, and we would hold him really close to us.”
Sometimes, while accompanying his family on an outing, Harold would be mistaken for someone completely different.
“When he wasn’t fully potty trained, sometimes we would have a diaper on him, and people would say, ‘I saw you sitting over there, and I thought you were holding a baby,’ or ‘I thought you were holding a Sphynx cat.’”
Passersby were always shocked to learn he was just a Frenchie recovering from a difficult past. Still, Harold delighted everyone he met — including his new forever family.
“We found a perfect family for him, and they have a dog already named Hippolita, who’s a very beautiful bully breed, and she and Harold at the meet-and-greet were so sweet together and so playful,” Andrea said. “[Harold’s] a puppy. He’s a wild puppy, but she was so patient with him. We knew that that was gonna be a perfect home for Harold.”
As Andrea predicted, Harold adapted to his new family seamlessly. And he’s been enjoying life with them ever since.
You can see Harold with his new family here:
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DD2zTrZzVX5/embed/captioned/?cr=1&v=14&wp=810&rd=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thedodo.com&rp=%2Fdaily-dodo%2Flittle-pink-puppy-gets-confused-for-a-human-baby-whenever-he-goes-out#%7B%22ci%22%3A0%2C%22os%22%3A29036.100000023842%2C%22ls%22%3A27592.200000047684%2C%22le%22%3A29021%7D
Andrea misses having Harold around, but she’s happy he scored a loving family for the rest of his life. While their time together was brief, Andrea is grateful to have even been a part of his story.
“When you are able to just give all of this love and attention to a dog who really, really needs it, the reward is seeing them heal, seeing them thrive,” Andrea said. “It really is so special to be a part of that.”
To keep up with Harold’s adventures, follow him on Instagram.
To help pups like Harold get the care they need, you can donate here.
Related
Kind Man Living On Streets Adopts Every Stray Dog He Comes Across
“They’re everything to me” 💕
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