A “miracle” dog who was found abandoned in the blazing heat on Memorial Day in 2022 has gone from near death to living his best life in Southaven, Mississippi.
Buddy is believed to be around 2 years old now, and lives with his owner Keith Windsor, but he didn’t have the easiest start.
“On Memorial Day 2022 the director of our local animal shelter went [to the shelter] just to raise the flag,” Windsor told Newsweek. “It was a sweltering day and as he got out to the flagpole, he noticed poor, pitiful Buddy tied to it and abandoned.”
Keith Windsor
Malnourished and near death, the young pit bull and Labrador mix was immediately picked up by the shelter’s owner who gave him some fluids and took him home for the night.
“If he had not gone to raise the flag that day, Buddy might not be with us,” said Windsor.
Sadly, Buddy is far from the only dog to be left without warning, earlier this year a small dog was abandoned at an infamous “dumping spot” in Texas.
Another dog was found abandoned alongside animal remains in a heartbreaking story from Georgia.
According to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), around 6.3 million companion animals enter U.S. shelters each year, including 3.1 million dogs.
Of dogs that enter shelters, the ASPCA reports that 65 percent are adopted, and 13 percent are euthanized.
After collecting Buddy on Memorial Day, the shelter’s owner posted on Facebook about the situation and explained that the pup would need a home where he could recuperate.
“I saw the pictures and just knew that was my dog,” said Windsor. “I called him and actually picked him up that day to take over his recovery. I surprised my girlfriend that evening and we both fell in love with our little guy.”
While it is impossible to know what had happened to Buddy in his short life before coming to Windsor, it was clear he needed some serious rest and recuperation.
Weighing just 18 pounds, Windsor told Newsweek his journey has been “remarkable.”
Keith Windsor
“He is curious and fearless, which sometimes gets him into mischief, but he is a wonderful dog and full of personality,” said the owner.
Now over a year since he came to live in his new home, Buddy’s most recent vet visit revealed that he is now a much healthier 75 pounds—although he doesn’t seem to have caught on to his new size just yet.
“He still thinks and acts like the 15-pound dog he was when we got him,” said Windsor. “He is our Memorial Day miracle.”
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