When Lisa Chiarelli spotted a beautiful stray Pitbull in the middle of a garbage dump in Los Angeles while it was pouring rain, she immediately pulled over and tried to get her in the car.
However, the dog was lost and so scared that she ran away.
“It was acres and acres. It was kind of on a recycling plant and there were so many places that she could hide,” Lisa told The Dodo.
But, although she couldn’t get her on the first attempt, Lisa wasn’t about to give up. She couldn’t stop thinking about that sad face, so she kept coming for three weeks in hopes of finding and rescuing the poor, abandoned dog.
A Three-Week Quest
Day after day, Lisa kept driving to the same location and looking for the stray Pittie.
She started feeding her in the same exact spot in order to gain her trust since she was so scared.
Someone probably dumped her because she looked well-fed and healthy.
On day three, Lisa arrived with her friend and a dog trap, but unfortunately, the trap failed and hit the dog on the back of her leg.
“I was so disappointed. I mean, I just started crying. She got really scared of me after the trap failed, and she wouldn’t come as close to me as she did on the first day. She would just see my car and leave,” Lisa told The Dodo.
Day after day passed and Lisa couldn’t stop thinking about the dog. She wasn’t going to give up until she saved her.
She set up a feeding spot at the location and went there two to three times a day just to check on her.
Around the 18th day, she set up a trap again, but this time, the trap was chained to a tree.
“Each day I would push the food bowl a little back more to the back of the trap. We brought chicken pastrami and I set the food a little bit around the entrance, and we put the jackpot in the back of the trap,” Lisa described.
After three weeks of trying, she finally went in and they got her… 21 days!
One Day At A Time
The beautiful girl – later named Xena – was so nervous, but still so beautiful.
They loaded her into the car and brought her to the vet. After an hour of sitting with her and petting her, Xena finally started to relax.
She became more relaxed each day, and even started to appreciate all the love and pets she received.
On day three of being rescued, Xena’s tail started to wag, indicating that she was finally happy.
“She just started blooming each day, with love and trust and removing the fear,” Lisa said.
One month after Xena’s rescue, she found a beautiful family from Orange County, with two older girls, who were interested in her.
“Usually the black Pitbulls are the toughest to be adopted but that’s what we had before. I was like, ‘No, that’s what I want!’, I said, ‘Give me the one that I knew would probably be in boarding for so long, not even find a foster.’ Yes, that’s what we wanted,” Shelly, Xena’s mom, told The Dodo.
After Xena learned that she could trust humans, she blossomed into the most amazing dog. She was the sweetest thing and everyone could see how happy she truly was.
Her beautiful family took her on many adventures and loved her until her last breath. Sadly, Xena, the warrior, died in May 2022.
You can watch her story here:
