Everyone loves a transformation story, even the most cold-hearted among us can’t help but cast an side-eye over someone’s journey from zero to hero.
It’s not often, however, that you come across a transformation story in which the subject is totally unrecognisable by the end (and we’re not talking about cosmetic surgery here).
Though it’s known for being a stunningly beautiful country, Bali, and in particular it’s capital Denpasar, suffers from a pretty big stray dog problem, so it’s not uncommon for residents to walk past the poor things on a daily basis.
However, as Rico Soegiarto, a 26-year-old who lives in Denpasar, walked home from work one day, he couldn’t help but be drawn to a dangerously malnourished dog, a dog so thin and in such bad condition it was hard to tell what breed she was.
Speaking to Bored Panda, Rico said:
I don’t know what was special about her. It’s about heart and feeling.
I found her when I was on the way back home from work, she was in the middle of the street.
Rico discovered the poor pup in such a bad way that he could see her bones through her skin, she had bald spots and any fur left was mangy and discoloured.
One thing about the dog always stood out though – just check out those beautiful blue eyes. No wonder Rico got a special feeling about the abandoned dog.
Rico washed, fed, nursed and groomed her back to health, and after 10 months the results speak for themselves.
Fittingly, Rico gave her a special name, too. He said:
Her name is Hope.
Now in full health, with a glorious coat of fur, Hope the husky is clearly loving her new life with Rico, who also has four other dogs and is a dedicated animal lover.
Rico said:
She loves getting petted and eats plenty of cookies!
And she is so sociable that she worries me sometimes. There are many thieves in Bali.
Now, Rico shared the results of his and Hope’s hard work over the past 10 months, and it’s fair to say they make a great team.
Rico, thankfully, is not the only animal lover willing to take a chance on abandoned dogs.
Dr Matt, from Vet Ranch, recently aided a blind and malnourished dog back to full health.
Though it was a lengthy journey, Dr Matt took personal care of pup Rem, taking him home and treating him with medicine, love and attention.
Rem was in such a bad way, the poor guy was blind from being overmedicated at his previous pound.
After months of professional treatment and heaps of TLC, Rem’s site amazingly recovered, and he transformed in to a bouncing bundle of joy.
Inspiring stuff.
If you have a story you want to tell send it to UNILAD via stories@unilad.co.uk
Charlie Cocksedge is a journalist and sub-editor at UNILAD. He graduated from the University of Manchester with an MA in Creative Writing, where he learnt how to write in the third person, before getting his NCTJ. His work has also appeared in such places as The Guardian, PN Review and the bin.