Starving puppy abandoned under a bridge makes ‘majestic’ transformation

Found under a bridge in a box, starving and riddled with worms, puppy Athena was in grave danger.

A passerby took her, along with four littermates – also critically malnourished and thought to be about eight weeks old – to a private vet, where they received emergency treatment.

They were soon on the slow road to recovery, but as strays, the litter needed to spend a mandatory seven days with the dog warden in case they were claimed.

However, Athena was being badly picked on by her siblings, raising concerns for her safety.

So, the vet practice contacted Blue Cross Burford, and our team stepped in to provide the husky greyhound cross with the specialist foster care she needed.

Jess Sweeten, Volunteer Coordinator and an experienced puppy foster carer, provided the home environment and round-the-clock care that Athena so desperately needed.

She says: “As the litter were strays, the initial plan was to give them to the dog warden once they were well enough.

“But, while they were at the vets’, they noticed that Athena was being picked on by her other siblings. She was the runt anyway – and, while they were all malnourished, she was particularly small and skinny.

“And so, they weren’t comfortable with letting her go with the others to the dog warden as the likelihood was that she’d be further injured by her siblings.”

Instead of spending a week in the council pound, Athena completed this period at Blue Cross. Nobody came forward. Her siblings were transferred to another rescue charity.

Jess continues: “I’ve been used several times as a puppy fosterer because I have a gentle, calm, older rottweiler cross husky called Poppy who’s a great role model for puppies.”

When she was found, Athena weighed just 3.4 kg and would have tipped the scales at even less had her belly not been swollen with worms. She also had patches of fur loss.

“She was very small, skinny and scraggly when she arrived,” continues Jess. “She had lots of hair loss. There was also a wound on her tail where her siblings had bitten it. It looked quite mangled. And she’d been shaved at the back end at the vets' as she had been found with faeces stuck in her fur.”

Thankfully, Athena's wounds were healed with topical creams. She also received medication to free her of worms and had all other routine parasite treatment needed.

But the biggest focus was to get Athena nourished and putting on vital weight. This required frequent small meals made up of food for sensitive young tummies.

Jess says: “She was really food-focused at the beginning because she had been starved. So, when she finished every meal, she would ravenously look for more.

“But we obviously couldn’t overload her with food, she needed those small portions to start with. And then we slowly increased the portions so that she gained weight and became able to hold more food in her stomach.

“Towards the end of her time in foster care with me, she wasn’t quite as driven by this need to eat. She got used to waiting between meals. Her mindset changed to: ‘Okay, I’m getting fed. I don’t need to fight any siblings for it, so I don’t need to scoff it down quite as much'.”

Despite her traumatic start to life – the finer sad details of which we’ll never know – Athena was a bright, confident and clever pup who immediately began to flourish.

Jess says: “She wasn’t withdrawn or nervous of people, as you might expect from a puppy with her background. She displayed standard puppy behaviour and was very playful.”

It was soon apparent that Athena was also "super-intelligent".

Jess explains: “After she got past the initial thought of ‘I must eat all the time’, we started to be able to use treats to teach her things. Because before, if you had the treats, she couldn't concentrate on learning tricks or training because all she thought was: ‘I'm starving. I need that food’.”

And her big and endearing personality quickly started shining through.

“She was energetic and quirky,” says Jess. “I don’t like to overuse the phrase ‘a bit of a character’, but she is.

“She would do cute things like go and steal Poppy’s toys and take them one by one back to her bed.

“And she was very snuggly – she really loved a cuddle. I think she’s going to be a forever lap dog, even though she’s quite large.”

Once she had gained the weight and strength she needed, Athena was put up for adoption – and quickly reserved. But sadly, she had a further health setback.

She became lame on one of her front legs and, despite several vet checks and X-rays, no cause could be determined.

The injury began resolving on its own as she gained more strength, so it was put down to the malnourishment she experienced as a small puppy.

“She wouldn’t have got the nutrients to help with that bone development,” Jess points out.

Thankfully, the man who reserved Athena was smitten from the start – and was willing to wait for her injury to heal, no matter what future health or mobility issues it might entail.

And, after 31 days in Blue Cross care, she went to her new home – on a 28-acre country estate, where her owner works.

Athena has recently returned to Burford to visit Jess and others who helped her grow into the happy, healthy and confident dog she is today.

Jess was overjoyed when Athena recognised her instantly.

“She clocked me straight away and ran over. So, I gave her lots of smooches! Her owner said she doesn’t normally greet people like that, so she clearly remembered me. It felt really special.”

Jess adds: “It’s amazing to have seen and been a part of her transformation from the scrawny, slightly ratty-looking puppy with a bad leg to this big, majestic husky cross greyhound that she is now.”