A blind dog pulled from the sea, starving, sick and frightened is living life to the full with a specialist foster family after building strength in the care of vets and volunteers.
On December 8, the Belgian Malinois was rescued by a fisherman in Balbriggan Harbour where water temperatures had plummeted. He was taken to Dublin County Shelter but was too unwell and overwhelmed by the noise so his care was taken over on Sunday, December 11 by Star Rescue.
Days of worry, drips and little food followed but then Ash suddenly turned the corner and was well enough last week to join a foster family who specialises in looking after dogs with sight and hearing loss - and now he has transformed into an energetic dog who is full of fun and affection.
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Eileen Treacy from Star Rescue, told DogsLive: "In mid-December Ash eating after picking up after a little visit from us but he was a very long way from being safe. There was a long road ahead of him and a happy life to be had. He just needed to pull through the next few days to build his strength.
"By December 17, nine days after he was plucked from freezing waters, he was able to leave the care of the fantastic Allpaws Veterinary Clinic and join us again in rescue. Ash still had a long way to go and was reluctant to eat but he tried a little bit of roast chicken and a little bit of recovery food so we really celebrated the small wins before Christmas.
"He even went for a short walk and enjoyed the frosty grass under his toes for a few minutes and afterward he was back in isolation, still absolutely exhausted from the past week's trauma.
"But we were beginning to let ourselves feel optimistic about Ash and the life he could have. Up until then, it was so hard to even dream but the support for this absolute hero and fighter has been phenomenal.
"We just know it's all of the power from the thoughts and prayers that have pulled this dog through the last few harrowing days. The fundraising for Ash is incredible and we are overwhelmed and overjoyed that this part of this fight is less of a worry.
"He was taken in by a fantastic foster family and every day he picked up a little more. And by Christmas Day Ash showed us hid real personality, his bubbly and playful character and how he loves to live life to the full, just running around with his friends and having the time of his life.
"He deserves such happiness and it has been incredible to watch his recovery at the hands of dedicated vets and fosterers."
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