When Duke the dog started coughing, his owners didn’t take him to the vet.
Instead, they chained him up outside, told neighbors he was diseased, and warned people to stay away. For ten long days, Duke was left tied to an old truck in the scorching heat — terrified, broken, and utterly alone.
Covered in fleas, lying in his own waste, and unable to move, the young dog was clinging to life in a backyard in Bulgaria. His owners had not only abandoned him — they had shattered his feet and tried to silence him forever.
But someone noticed.
A woman named Alie couldn’t ignore the dog’s suffering. She contacted Rudozem Street Dog Rescue (RSDR), a local shelter in Bulgaria that’s no stranger to heartbreaking scenes.
When cofounder Tony Rowles arrived, the sight of Duke stunned him.
”He was very scared,” Tony said: ”There was a stench of ammonia. He couldn’t move anywhere. It was totally overwhelming.”
Veterinarians then confirmed the unimaginable: Duke’s feet were not just injured — they were crushed.
”It was a real shock when the vet said this was trauma to his feet,” Tony told The Dodo. “They were obviously broken. His feet were shattered. The ligaments in his feet were nonexistent. Bones were just floating about in his feet.”
But despite everything, Duke hadn’t given up.
Tony decided not to bring Duke to the already packed shelter. Instead, he brought him home. Slowly, patiently, he introduced Duke to a life he’d never known: a safe place to rest, regular meals, and gentle hands that didn’t hurt him.
”He was OK when I approached him initially. But you could see that fear in the way he moved and the way he backed away for those first few weeks,” Rowles says. ”He really made an attachment with my wife Diane. He just loved Diane.”
After successful surgery, proper care, and a whole lot of love, Duke finally began to heal — both inside and out.
Today, Duke has a forever home in England with a kind-hearted woman who adores him. He runs, plays, and gives kisses like any other dog. The fear is gone. The chains are gone. All that’s left is love.
Let this be a reminder: rescue saves lives — and sometimes, it changes them in ways we never thought possible.
