Rescue of a Shar-Pei Dog After Abandonment

A few months back, Audray Luck, who runs a rescue operation in Georgia called Luck’s Rescue, received a distressing call from a woman. She had discovered a stray dog on her property. During the conversation, Luck was in the middle of arranging a foster home for the dog when the woman abruptly mentioned she had already given the dog away to a stranger.

Understandably, this left Luck feeling quite upset and worried about the dog’s new situation. She was left with no clue about where the dog might be and thought she would never have the chance to assist it.

The following morning, Luck received another call regarding a Shar-Pei that had been dumped at a local garbage transfer station. An employee at the station had found the poor creature hiding in the bathroom when he arrived for work.

Upon Luck’s arrival, she was shocked to see that the abandoned dog was, in fact, the same one she had just spoken about the day prior. Even though it broke her heart to find the Shar-Pei in such poor conditions, she felt a wave of relief knowing that the dog would finally receive some care.

Luck surmised that the dog had likely been abandoned the previous night, just as temperatures were plummeting. In search of warmth, the Shar-Pei must have sought refuge from the cold weather in the restroom.

“She was smart enough to find her way into that sheltered space to try to keep out of the wind and weather,” Luck remarked. But it was evident that the dog was in poor health — she had skin problems and appeared malnourished. Luck hurried her, whom she later named Petunia, to the veterinarian for treatment. They started her on medications and realized she would need surgery on her eyelids.

“Shar-Peis have a lot of skin, which often causes their eyelids to roll inward, leading to infections,” Luck explained. “So, they need a specific surgery — kind of like an eye lift — to prevent that.”

What’s incredible is that despite all the hardships Petunia had endured, she had a sweet temperament and seemed to trust Luck almost immediately. “You could definitely tell she had been mistreated and neglected,” Luck said. “Yet, she was quick to regain trust in people. I named her Petunia after the flower because she was like a little flower blooming.”

After Petunia’s recovery, she was moved to the Big Lake Humane Society in Michigan, and by early April, she found a loving family to adopt her. From being abandoned in a landfill bathroom, Petunia now has the chance to experience a nurturing forever home.