All dogs in rescue deserve a chance at a better tomorrow…

This couldn’t be more true than for Phoenix, our sweet senior shepherd mix. Phoenix was rescued from an unimaginable hoarding situation in Mississippi; the dogs were unloved and denied the basic necessities of life, piled on top of each other with barely any food, water, or shelter.

A group from a local rescue attempted to trap and remove some of the dogs from the property. One of the dogs they were able to rescue was Phoenix. Unfamiliar with what it felt to be loved and cared for, Phoenix was scared, emaciated, and covered in mange. He had no fur and his body was covered in scabs from the mange, which took a year to heal and for his fur to grow back. 

For the first several months that Phoenix was in a foster home in Mississippi, he hid under a rocking chair in a spare bedroom, only emerging at night to eat. His foster said that he was “by far, the worst case I had ever seen of neglect.” One day, he decided that he had had enough of hiding away and curled up in bed with his foster mother. He slowly began to trust her, blossoming into a different dog, and was ready for his freedom ride to TLC.

Phoenix’s day finally came on June 8 - 123 days after his arrival at TLC - when he was adopted by a previous TLC adopter, joining his fur brother, Bodhi. He is now lovingly called “Fred Fred Potato Head”- a nickname that oozes with the love and affection his new family has for him.

“This once almost unapproachable scared boy is the sweetest guy.  He greets us with kisses and excitement, loves belly rubs, playing with his brother Bohdi (TLC alum), and being a wonderful member of our family.” - Fred’s Furever Family

It has been our pleasure to help him emerge from the ashes of his previous life to become the magnificent dog he is today.