Jiminy Cricket possesses not just a captivating name, but also a life story, albeit one filled with a lot of sadness.
His previous “owner” decided to stuff him in a cardboard box and dump him in the middle of the night in an empty parking lot. He probably thought his plan was genius and no one would catch him, but he was terribly mistaken.
A security camera filmed everything, and rescuers were able to rush to the scene to save the poor puppy.
The puppy was in horrible condition, but he was still fighting…
From Dumped To Dashing
Jiminy arrived at the Bainbridge Decatur County Humane Society in pretty bad shape. He was in such horrible condition that they didn’t know if he would survive the night.
Moreover, they were overwhelmed with the number of stray animals pushed into their care, so one volunteer from Leon County Humane Society, in Tallahassee, Florida, rushed immediately to pick him up.
Once in Tallahassee, the little pup was immediately transferred to the veterinary clinic for treatment. Thankfully, after a couple of days and lots of care, Jiminy was no longer on a deathbed.
Shannon Colavecchio, a foster with LCHS, heard about Jiminy Cricket and was impressed with his will to survive, so she immediately offered to help.
“I went to the vet and picked him up. The first couple of days he was very scared. His tail was tucked, but he was eating. That was a good sign,” Shannon told The Dodo.
Although still very weak and sick, Jiminy was a true sweetheart.
“He basically slept, woke up, ate, went to the bathroom, and slept again,” Shannon described.
After a week at her house, Jiminy slowly started to improve. He would let them snuggle with him, and he started to walk a bit more.
Leon County Humane Society wrote an update on their Facebook page:
“Update for all our Jiminy Cricket lovers: Jiminy is in foster care, and he is beyond spoiled. His foster mom showers him with affection and toys. He wears a sweater since he doesn’t have any body fat to warm him, and he has plenty of outfits to choose from. Some he will have to grow into.”
By week three, he started eating better, playing like a regular pup, and his little personality finally surfaced.
After a month had passed, Jiminy was almost as healthy as he could be – his fur was completely back and so soft, and he had grown so much, and was simply thriving.
Foster Failure
Since Jiminy Cricket was not completely healthy, it was time to find him a forever home.
“Selfishly, I want to adopt him to somebody that I know, so that I can still be Aunt Shannon,” she said in the video.
But, little did she know that he was not going anywhere. Just like three other foster dogs before him, Jiminy was also a foster failure.
“We’ve had him since February 19, 2020, when he was barely 4 pounds and sick, covered in mange, and this dog has been with us and has become such a part of our family, and so we have decided that Jiminy Cricket is staying with us, and is going to be our fourth rescue dog and our – maybe our most special one. He is an amazing dog. We love him so much, and I’m officially the crazy dog lady,” Shannon said.
The children, along with Shannon, couldn’t imagine their life without Jiminy Cricket in it, so they decided to make him a permanent part of their family.
A true rollercoaster of a life for a little dog, but thankfully, that sad part of his life was long gone.
You can watch Jiminy’s transformation in the video below:
