Raymond thought he was heading out for a fun walk in the woods. Instead, he was abandoned.
Left alone on a hiking trail in Michigan, Raymond spent five long days sitting on a pile of wood chips near the parking lot — watching every car that pulled in, hoping his people had come back for him.
“Day after day, for five long days, he sat on a pile of wood chips overlooking the parking lot, waiting for his ‘family’ to come back,” The KG Foundation shared on TikTok.
Hikers soon noticed the lonely pup and tried to help, but Raymond was too afraid to let anyone get close. One woman tried for days to catch him, but he would disappear into the woods every time, only to return faithfully to his little lookout spot.
Determined to help, the woman reached out to The KG Foundation.
Founder Jordan Covington showed up ready for a long rescue — but to her surprise, the moment she offered Raymond some food, he slowly approached. Exhausted and starving, he finally let his guard down.
After a brief hold at animal control to make sure no one was looking for him, Raymond was taken in by A ReJoyceful Animal Rescue, with help from The KG Foundation. When he arrived at the shelter and saw another dog, something shifted — for the first time, he wagged his tail.
“It was the first time I saw his little butt wiggle,” Covington told The Dodo. “I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, thank God,’ because he was really just a shell of a dog.”
Raymond’s road to recovery hit a bump when he came down with pneumonia and had to be hospitalized. But thanks to quick medical care, he pulled through — and even started to play.
Just a few days later, Covington saw another first: Raymond picked up a toy and actually played with it.
“He’s been super brave with meeting new people,” she said. “He’s been really friendly and wagging his tail a lot.”
Raymond is now ready for foster care and, once fully healed, will be looking for a forever home. With his gentle spirit and sweet nature, Covington is confident he’ll make someone very happy.
“I think he’s going to be just a very sensitive soul and a very sweet guy,” she said.
If you’d like to learn more about fostering or adopting Raymond, visit The KG Foundation's website. To support his care or help other dogs like him, you can also make a donation through their site here.
