Saved from Death Row
                          by Rita L.



Lost and lonely and wandering the streets of LA, a dog was desperately looking for help. She only had three working legs and was in tremendous pain. There were so many loud noises, bright lights and people, none of which would make eye contact with her. Finally, someone showed interest in her. They put a leash on her and loaded her into a truck. 

She was taken to a building on the outskirts of LA and placed in a room with many kennels and lots of dogs. There, the dog anxiously watched and waited, unsure of what her fate might be. 

One day Melanie, a Pasado's supporter with a heart of gold who lives in LA, was walking through the shelter and saw a dog cowering in the corner of a kennel with a bunch of dogs barking and jumping around her. She was told that the this pup was unadoptable due to an injury and was scheduled to be euthanized. The intake photo of the dog showed a happy, bright, and well fed beloved pet.  The events that had happened between then and the dog who  she saw in front of her just seemed so unfair.

Cleo had a broken shoulder and suffered in a shelter without any treatment for several long months

She looked at the sweet, frightened face staring back at her.  This abandoned girl was shaking, cowering, and just skin and bones. Cleo, as she named her, had not had any medical attention for her injured leg. In fact, she had been forced to suffer the pain of a broken shoulder for the past 4 months without any treatment.  Instead of putting her in a cage by herself, she was tossed in with a bunch of healthy, young dogs. Needless to say, with her injury, she was unable to fend off the others at feeding time. As a result, she had lost 20 lbs.  Melanie knew that she deserved better and that she had to do something to save this loving soul who had suffered for so long.

Melanie had a house full of rescued animals already, so she called her friend Megan to see if she could foster Cleo for awhile. After hearing Cleo's story the decision was made instantly. They went back to the shelter to free her from her fear, loneliness and pain. Upon arrival they discovered that she was scheduled for euthanasia in just six hours. They were able to get her released to them and immediately took her to a Veterinarian.

Amongst all of her other issues, Cleo had a very serious ear infection which was causing a lot of pain. The vet also stated that her broken shoulder would have been fixable with surgery soon after the injury, but had healed in an unnatural position and was calcified in place. It was too late to do anything to fix it now, although now that it was healed in place, they thought she was no longer in pain. Melanie and Megan gave Cleo plenty of TLC, good food and medicated her ear.

Slowly but surely, she started to come back around. She stopped cowering and reveled in the attention. Her ribs began to disappear as she put weight back on.  Since they both had a house full of rescued dogs they started looking for someone to take her. They were turned down by every place they contacted because of Cleo's pre-existing medical condition.

That's when they turned to Pasado's Safe Haven. After hearing Cleo's story and knowing the system that should have helped her had instead caused more damage, Pasado's was more than happy to offer brighter days for her.  Using their own money and taking time off of work, Melanie and Megan flew Cleo to Seattle then drove her out to the farm. They already saved her life and were now doing everything they could to make sure that the rest of her time would be the happiest possible.

Everyone immediately fell in love with the dog with the lopsided ear! She was still cautious of people, but you could see in her eyes-  she just wanted to be loved.

Cleo has been here since November and although it's a pretty good place, she is longing for a forever home. Is that with you? She is very loving, and gets along well with other dogs but she does like to chase cats. If her story and pictures touch you as much as they did Melanie, Megan and then us, please consider Cleo.  if you have space in your life for her, please contact us here.