When she was brought into a Spanish rescue centre, puppy Barilla’s bones were protruding, through her skin and her organs were close to failing. The starved canine was no more than a bag of bones and had so little muscle, that she was unable to walk or stand when an animal lover took her in. When the pooch – named after Barilla spaghetti because she was so thin – was first admitted to the vet, it was not known whether she would survive.
The puppy weighed just 16lbs and, even though she was immediately hooked up to a drip, staff at the centre knew she could suffer organ failure at any time. She could only move her head and wag her tail But the rescue’s owner Eduardo Rodriguez was determined to get her back on her paws. He adopted her and nursed Barilla everyday! And even a week later, having gained 8.8lbs in weight, she was still unable to stay on her feet, and crashed to the ground when she tried. 8 weeks on and she is a new dog after wolfing down more food, than she had likely ever seen in the 10-month nightmare she lived through before.
Barilla now looks like a different dog. “Her recovery has been staggering,” said Rodriguez Mr Rodriguez revealed he had adopted Barilla – thought to be a Belgian Malinois mix – after falling in love with her at first sight.
She now shares his home on the outskirts of Granada with Mr Rodriguez’s wife and 14-year-daughter and five other dogs. Her will to live was amazing and I felt a connection with her the moment I saw her. She’s now up to 46lbs and is on the road to a full recovery! “We’re inseparable now. She’s so intelligent and obedient.
The first day I saw her I told my colleagues I was going to keep her and that’s the way it’s been. We can’t imagine why anyone would want to starve such a beautiful creature as Barilla. We’re still investigating how she came to be in this state with a view to denouncing the person responsible for animal cruelty.
We were called by the local police who said the man who had her had supposedly found her like that. ou’d expect a dog who was living on the streets to eat from the rubbish, so we think she’s been locked up somewhere and deprived of food and water. She had marks on her paws and legs where we think she’d been dragging herself around because she couldn’t walk properly because of her lack of muscle mass Mr Rodriguez added: ‘For me this is a unique case and we want to get to the bottom of what’s happened.
Police are still investigating the mysterious circumstances which led to one of the villagers informing town hall officials he had found the animal. Barilla now live the best life with full happinest and love from dad, travel to every where… Barilla deserve a second chance in her life. Thank you so much for your alway support!
