When this dog showed up at a man’s workplace, the man never expected to completely fall in love. However, he had no idea that the pup was actually on the verge of death. Your heart will break at this story of a man who went out of his way to rescue a dog that needed it most.
20. Difficult Times
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Cody Leightenheimer and his wife were going through some difficult times together. Recently, the couple suffered from two miscarriages and it was really starting to drag them down…
19. Heartbroken
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The couple was heartbroken as they were trying to have a baby for so long. Cody truly felt like there was a hole in his heart that needed to be filled. Then one day, the universe heard his cry and sent out a gift.
18. Work Day
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On a typical work day, Cody was at his wood flooring factory job taking care of business. Everything was going on as usual until Cody spotted an unexpected guest. There standing right in front of him was a dog!
17. Random Dog
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“I instantly wanted to abandon post and grab the thing for cuddles, but I had work to get done. This pup wasn’t having none of that though. He walked up to me and stared at me with his huge eyes,” Cody explained.
16. Bad Shape
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“I pet him and noticed instantly that he was flea-covered, matted, and not in the best physical shape,” Cody said. “As I looked closer I realized that he had a lot of gray around his muzzle, ears, and face.”
15. Grown Dog
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“He wasn’t a pup at all. I got him chicken-ish fast food during my lunch because he was so thin that I could feel his bones.” Then Cody suddenly got a crazy idea and decided to follow through with it…
14. His Wife
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“I started sending these pictures to my wife planning on pleading to bring him home,” Cody said. Cody had no idea how his wife would respond. After all, they had never discussed getting a dog, especially not a stray one.
13. Agreement
“I didn’t have to because she beat me to the punch,” said Cody. “I thought that I would have to herd him away from doors all day until I could clock out and take him home. The little guy fell asleep on the floor and stayed there all day.”
12. Bringing Him Home
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Once the work day was over, Cody brought the dog over to his home. There he washed the dog off and removed all of the fleas covering his coat. Then he brought the dog to the vet and he never expected what happened next.
11. Health Problems
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Once at the vet’s office, the vet was able to look over the dog who happened to have a ton of health problems. Some of these included stunted growth from malnutrition. But what else was wrong?
10. A Long List
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The poor dog also suffered from cataracts and had a dilated pupil that was the result of head trauma. He also had stomach ulcers which induced vomiting and his teeth were rotting out of his mouth. To add to the list the dog was also deaf!
9. Naming Him
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Cody and Kasie decided to name the dog Rooster Cogburn after John Wayne’s character in True Grit. “We found it fitting due to his ability to keep moving despite it all,” Cody explained. The vet was also able to tell the couple what kind of dog they had…
8. The Breed
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Rooster was a Shetland sheepdog, between eight and 12 years old. The dog also only weighed 7.3 pounds. The couple knew that Rooster would be a lot of work but they were determined to help him get better. Luckily, he did!
7. Getting Better
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Here is Rooster “after a surgery on the fistulas, a strict medicinal regimen, months of spoiling, and a family who loved him as much as their two children and then some,” Cody said. He looks so much healthier and happier.
6. New Name
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Later on, Rooster ended up getting a brand new name! “Toothless (nickname added by our five-year-old daughter because of her love for How To Train Your Dragon) Rooster Cogburn was a dashing elderly gentleman in the vein of Sir Ian McKellen and Christopher Plummer.”
5. Truly Loved
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Toothless Rooster was truly loved by his family and boy was he spoiled! ”He loved being spoon-fed by his mommy, [and] Greek yogurt was his favorite treat,” said Cody.
4. Dress-up
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Toothless Rooster also loved to play dress-up as you can see! He had the love and affection of a great family and all of this helped him to live out his life in the best way possible. Despite his health issues, Rooster was still always tons of fun!
3. Fun Dog
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Even though he had so many health problems, they never held Rooster back. Rooster still continued to have tons of fun and the family loved being around him. He was truly a sweet and happy dog.
2. Sad Ending
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Unfortunately Rooster didn’t get to live as long as the family would have liked. “Toothless Rooster Cogburn was given three months to one year to live,” Cody said. “He made it to one year before he got too sick to grace us with his awesomeness for one more day.”
1. Final Nap
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“I watched the greatest friend, most loving pet, and the most heroic fighter I’ve ever met sink into a well-deserved final nap while his mother and I held his paws,” Cody shared. “I never thought I could love a pet as much as I loved him; as much as we loved him. Everyone who met him instantly loved him.”