When Donna Lochmann crouched down beside an abandoned van in a quiet St. Louis neighborhood, she could hear the faint sound of a growl rumbling from the shadows.
Neighbors had called about a stray dog who’d been sleeping beneath cars for weeks, too frightened to let anyone near.
Donna, chief life-saving officer for Stray Rescue of St. Louis, knew the growl wasn’t aggression — it was fear.
“It’s not a mean thing,” she explained. “It’s just how they protect themselves when they’re scared.”
Peering under the van, Donna finally saw him: a thin, white pit bull with pleading eyes. He was exhausted, hungry, and wary — but not beyond hope.
Donna pulled out her secret weapon: Vienna sausages. She gently tossed a piece under the car, then another. The pup devoured them, and soon his tail began to wag in cautious gratitude.
Bit by bit, Donna tossed the sausages farther away until, at last, the dog crept out from under the van.
“All he wanted was to know we would help him,” the rescue later shared.
Donna named him Avalanche. He allowed her to slip a leash over his neck but hesitated to follow her.
So, with a trail of sausages leading to her Jeep, Avalanche finally made the journey from street life to safety.
“He just followed that little trail of sausages,” Lochmann said. “And then he let me pick up and put him in the Jeep.”
Lochmann drove Avalanche straight to the vet, where he was given a full medical assessment and a much-needed bath.
At the vet clinic, staff discovered just how much he had endured. Avalanche was dangerously underweight, with deep sores on his hips from lying on concrete. He needed antibiotics, a careful feeding schedule, and a long bath to wash away weeks of grime.
Within days, though, his story took a brighter turn. A foster family welcomed Avalanche into their home just in time for Christmas. Clinic staff, who had quickly fallen in love with him, were sad to say goodbye — but relieved to know he’d never spend another holiday cold and alone.
Now, Avalanche’s transformation is undeniable. He spends his days snuggling with his foster mom and romping with his new dog siblings. His body is healing, and his spirit is too.
“You can just see the difference in his eyes,” Donna said. “He doesn’t have that defeated look anymore. There’s life in his eyes now.”
Avalanche still has a long road of recovery ahead, Lochmann can already see a change in the sweet pup.
“You can just see the difference in his eyes,” Lochmann said. “There’s more life to his eyes now than when we first got him. He doesn’t have that defeated look anymore.”
To help animals like Avalanche get the help they need, make a donation to Stray Rescue of St. Louis or check out their list of available adoptees.
