It must have been a miracle of life, a young dog dubbed ‘Dice ‘ sᴜʀᴠɪᴠɪɴɢ being ʟᴏᴄᴋᴇᴅ in a cage outside for more than a week with ɴᴏ food or water. If ɴᴏ one had discovered Dice , he definitely wouldn’t have made it but thankfully, he was found.
In early November 2017, when police officers were sᴇʀᴠɪɴɢ ᴇᴠɪᴄᴛɪᴏɴ notices in a neighborhood in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, when children ᴀʟᴇʀᴛᴇᴅ them about Dice, who sat in a cage outside an ᴀʙᴀɴᴅᴏɴᴇᴅ apartment. Tracey Godin, cofounder of Feeling Fine Rescue in Loxahatchee, Florida said:” The tenants moved out and left him in the backyard in a crate with ɴᴏ food or water. The police, of course, asked the children how long the dog had been there, and they said they thought he’d been there a week or more. But Dice had probably been neglected for a lot longer than that. He was ɴᴏᴛ fed properly for months. The last week would have just been the final ᴅᴇᴛᴇʀɪᴏʀᴀᴛɪᴏɴ.”
The police officers called ᴀɴɪᴍᴀʟ ᴄᴏɴᴛʀᴏʟ, who transported Dice to a local sʜᴇʟᴛᴇʀ. Godin’s friend, who volunteers at the sʜᴇʟᴛᴇʀ, saw Dice come in and snapped some photos of him. When Godin received the images from her friend, she was sʜᴏᴄᴋᴇᴅ and sᴀᴅᴅᴇɴᴇᴅ. Godin said:” It took your ʙʀᴇᴀᴛʜ ᴀᴡᴀʏ. I didn’t know how he was sᴛɪʟʟ ᴀʟɪᴠᴇ. Tears immediately came to my face.” Godin and her daughter Micaela pulled Dice from the sʜᴇʟᴛᴇʀ the very next day, and rushed him to the ᴠᴇᴛ. He was 30 pounds, but he should have been 65 poundsd. He was ᴅᴇʜʏᴅʀᴀᴛᴇᴅ and ᴀɴᴇᴍɪᴄ. You could see his sᴋᴜʟʟ, there was just ɴᴏ muscle mass in his body at all. His eyes were sᴜɴᴋᴇɴ in his ʜᴇᴀᴅ. In my opinion, if he had been in that cage another day, he would ɴᴏᴛ have made it.” Once Dice was healthy enough to leave the ᴠᴇᴛ, he came to live at Feeling Fine Rescue, which Godin and her daughter run from their home. They both marveled at Dice’s rapid recovery.
Dr. Muzzy said:” It’s very ʀᴀʀᴇ for us to see dogs in this ᴄᴏɴᴅɪᴛɪᴏɴ. Quite miraculous that he even sᴜʀᴠɪᴠᴇᴅ.” Dr. Sayyid started ᴛʀᴇᴀᴛɪɴɢ Dice by slowly re-introducing him to food and water. He’s gained four pounds over the last few days but still is ᴇxᴛʀᴇᴍᴇʟʏ ᴍᴀʟɴᴏᴜʀɪsʜᴇᴅ. “He’s tracking in the right direction but he’s still got a far ways to go,” Dr. Sayyid said while using his hands to show how ᴇᴍᴀᴄɪᴀᴛᴇᴅ Dice is. Other than being ᴍᴀʟɴᴏᴜʀɪsʜᴇᴅ, Dice is remarkably healthy. He walks with a ʙɪᴛ ᴏꜰ ᴀ ʟɪᴍᴘ, which may be a result of being ʟᴏᴄᴋᴇᴅ in the cage for a week. However, all of his ɪɴᴛᴇʀɴᴀʟ ᴏʀɢᴀɴs are functioning properly despite his ʟᴀᴄᴋ of food and water. He’s also one of the happiest dogs you’ll ever meet, wagging his tail so ʜᴀʀᴅ at times he’s ʙʀᴜɪsᴇᴅ ʜɪᴍsᴇʟꜰ. Godin said:” He wags his tail. He gives you kisses . All he wants is treats and a hug.”
Godin said:” Two weeks later, he was 50 pounds, and by the weekend, he was 65 pounds. Basically every day, you could see a difference in the dog. Dice also started to smile, making his face glow with happiness. It’s really incredible to see how a dog can go through so much at the hands of people, and … be immediately ready to love and trust new people. From the minute we met Dice, he’s been the most loving dog. He has an amazing personality.”
In late December, he caught the eye of a family looking to adopt a third dog. Godin said:”They really fell in love with him the moment they saw him. They came to visit him several times. They asked if they could do a meet-and-greet at their property with their two current dogs.” The meet-and-greet was an enormous success, ɴᴏᴛ only did Dice get along with the family’s two other dogs, but he also bonded with their two small children. Two weeks later, Dice went home with the family on a foster-to-adopt basis. But just a few days later, the family knew they wanted Dice to stay. Godin said:” They called me last night and said, ‘We’re more in love with him than the moment we met him, and we would like to never bring him back. I was crying because this family is absolutely incredible … and I don’t think that Dice could have gone to a better home.”
Godin added:” We sᴀᴠᴇ a lot of dogs, and they all have stories, and they all come from such ᴀᴡꜰᴜʟ beginnings. But Dice is resilient in how quick he was able to bounce back, and how gracefully he did it. He’s so lucky, and he’s strong to be able to make it through this, and to come out on the other side so quickly and so successfully. I would say that it was a miracle, for sure.”
