Every time we see a nice, emotional video of a dog being successfully rescued or adopted, it reminds us of why we love these furballs.
It’s not just about them reciprocating all the love they receive, but it’s actually seeing them transform in a new environment that makes our hearts melt!
One such story was disclosed on the BeforeNAfterAdoption Reddit profile by a man named Graham Whatmough.
Even though his current doggo, Willow, is now a happy girl who enjoys life to the fullest, you’d never be able to tell that she had such a rough life before she met her owner…
Insecure, Scared, And Growling At First
Before he became an enthusiastic photographer, Graham was in the oil field business, which didn’t make him so happy, which is why he quit and decided to pursue his dream of being a freelancer in the field, capturing all the beauty that nature can offer.
One weekend, four years ago, he went for a hike and decided to do some berry picking in the woods when he saw a white female dog lying next to a fallen tree.
“Going for a Sunday afternoon walk quickly escalated into berry picking, then into finding a dog that had been living in the woods,” Graham wrote on his Facebook.
At first, the dog was scared and insecure. She was growling at him for a few minutes, but once she realized that Graham was offering her water, she calmed down. He slowly approached her and gave her some treats and some more water, as she was really thirsty.
She had a collar on her neck, which meant that she probably belonged to someone before. Graham knew he couldn’t leave her on her own, so he decided to take her to the nearest SPCA.
However, when she started to move, he noticed that the dog had both of her hind legs severely injured…
“Nobody has claimed her, so I took her to the vet today. They’ve given her an X-ray and she has one fractured back leg, and a very broken one, which has started healing up in the wrong way,” says Graham.
The dog he later named Willow happened to have both of her legs broken. She had a long recovery process ahead of herself, but she needed a place to stay, as the SPCA couldn’t take her due to lack of capacity.
Graham decided to take her in until she fully recovered, after which, he intended to give her up for adoption, as no one had claimed her so far.
An Unexpected Friendship Was Made
Even though their initial contact wasn’t as enthusiastic as he expected, a strong bond was made between the two in such a short period of time. Willow awaited her surgery, and she could only walk for a little bit, but Graham decided to help her on his own.
Every day, he pushed her a little more, stretching her legs so she could recover faster. At first, it was just about preparing her for further treatment, but Willow seemed to respond amazingly!
She was getting better every day! She practically started hiking with Graham to the woods and followed him everywhere he went. It took her months to get fully back on her feet, but eventually – she became her old self!
Building Up Towards Willow’s Old Self In A New Home
Here is video of me walking out a dog I found malnourished in the woods…When I took her to the vet I found that both of her rear femurs were badly broken and beginning to set about an inch shorter than they should be. I adopted her and after lots of stretching and exercise here Willow is today 🙂
by u/WhereTheHighwayEnds in BeforeNAfterAdoption
Aside from his own work with Willow, Graham received amazing support by the local community. Once his story had gone viral, a plethora of people reached out to him to donate money for Willow’s recovery.
At that point, Graham realized that he couldn’t give this dog up, so he decided to keep Willow for good!
She was still recovering from her injury, but she was getting better with each new day. After a few months of a slow, gradual recovery, Willow was finally ready to keep up with her owner.
Night and day, summer and winter – she didn’t mind! She was always ready to jump out of the house and go for a long, entertaining hike! And, best of all – she loved it very much!
The Most Littertastic Surprise For Graham
During her recovery, Graham came to the most amazing realization of all – Willow was carrying a litter! She was not a big dog, so it was quite easy to notice her belly getting bigger every day. Eventually, she ended up having nine healthy, chunky pups in her cozy home!
For Graham, it was a beautiful experience seeing his girl become a mama. He provided her and her puppies with the coziest setup ever, giving them a chance to grow and develop as best as they could!
He decided to give all of them away to his friends and acquaintances, so they could stay close to their mom.
Graham Whatmough:
“It was a pretty cool experience and it went really smooth. They’re all happy and healthy puppies… They’re all going to my friends and people I know, so they’re all going to be close.”
And, as for Willow – she’s still living the most amazing life with her loving owner, walking daily through the woods and chasing new adventures! You can keep up with Willow and Graham on the Where the Highway Ends page!
