Ok, here goes. About 2 years ago my hubby and I were walking our 2 rescue dogs in our neighborhood. There was a new house going up so we decided to walk thru it. When we get in we hear growling. We looked further and found this pitiful dog baring her teeth at us, laying on a pile of construction garbage. We took the other 2 dogs home and went back. She was a little calmer then and we were able to get close to her. She was so thin and matted she could hardly walk. My hubby carried her to our house and discovered that she was a recent mama dog. My hubby then went back to the house looking for pups, which he didn't find. I took her out in the yard and started cutting mats so she could stand up and found that she was COVERED with foxtails that were imbedded in her skin. I pulled out at least 100 and then gave her a bath. When we were drying her off, we found a HUGE abcess under her front leg (armpit area) that had burst. The next day I took her to the vet in our small town, got her shots and he looked at her abcess and prescribed Panalog ointment. We decided that we needed to find a home for her because our town only allows 2 dogs without a kennel license. A rancher in our area said he'd take her. I took the dog to the ranch (about 15 miles from our house) and the rancher didn't seem to care one way or another about her. I left him with the ointment and instructions on how to care for her wound. On my way home, all I did was cry. I went and found my husband at work and told him I just didn't feel right about leaving her there. His words (which I will never forget, and remind me why I love him so)were: "Go get her and bring her home." I got back to the ranch and believe it or not, he had locked her in a horse trailer full of crap and left! We live in the desert and it was probably 110 degrees outside and he had left no food or water for her. I don't know what made me look in that trailer, but I found her, put her in the car and took her home. The abcess kept getting worse so I took her to another vet and he performed emergency surgery on her because the infection was so bad. He found a tiny foxtail had travelled through her body and created a terrible infection. He was surprised she was still alive. He put 4 drain tubes in her and I got to bring her home the next day. To this day, this dog is absolutely the most loyal, loving, devoted dog I have ever had. I nearly cry when I look at her, thinking of all she's been through, but am pleased that she now lives the life of a spoiled princess. My only wish is that I could find the person who cast her away like so much garbage. My hats off to my fellow animal lovers who realize the special bond between a dog and its human!