Valinda Cortez, an animal lover and advocate, drove to her local convenience store in Canton, North Carolina one early Sunday morning. Cortez devotes much of her time helping homeless animals and there isn’t much she hasn’t seen but this particular morning was different. She saw an animal that absolutely broke her heart.
Cortez, still wearing her pajamas, pulled into the store’s parking lot. It was then she spotted a soaking wet dog that was all alone.
Valinda Cortez/Facebook
“When I got out of the car, my heart sank,” Cortez tells The Dodo. “This poor baby had been out in the rain and cold for a long time. She was freezing.”
“It was apparent to me that this baby had been dumped,” she adds.
Cortez posted the story on her Facebook page:
“This morning I came across this pitiful, wet, cold, hungry baby. After a while of feeding her beef jerky and dog food, we finally got a leash on her.
I’m not sure where she came from, but I hope she never has to go back.”
“She had an obvious eye infection. Her hair was matted. She had an open wound on her leg. I was out there in the rain for an hour and was freezing.
She had been out there a lot longer than that so I can’t imagine how she was feeling.”
“I had blankets and dog food in my car that were supposed to go to the shelter.
Valinda Cortez/Facebook
They were definitely put to good use this morning.”
Valinda Cortez/Facebook
Cortez has a friend named Sue who also volunteers her time helping homeless animals. Sue drove to the store immediately to help Cortez with the sad pup. Then they drove together to the animal shelter.
In a short time, the drenched, ‘pitiful’ dog they named Cassie, began to show her true colors. She was dry and fed and understanding that her sad situation was a thing of the past.
Just look at her amazing transformation!
Valinda Cortez/Facebook
Cassie is currently being matched with interested adopters. She will have a new forever home where she never spends an unhappy day!
Animal neglect and abandonment will not be tolerated. Cortez speaks about the important lesson:
“There are always options,” she told The Dodo. “What if I ignored this cold, wet, hungry dog and kept driving? She could have froze to death, been hit by a car or numerous other things. It’s not that hard to find a shelter that will take your animal.”
Amen to that, sister!
Many thanks to Valinda Cortez for giving this animal a second chance! She’s an angel! 😇
Valinda Cortez/Facebook
