One fateful day, a six-year-old girl was playing near her home in the Waterside area of Londonderry, in the U.K. As she ventured out further, she stumbled upon a concrete hole in the ground.
When she peeked into the deep, dark hole she found a dog. A blind, emaciated boxer with cracked teeth and an infected uterus had been thrown into the hole to die among the sludge and waste.
This was more than a concrete hole — it was a concrete grave.
The little girl sprung into superhero mode, ran home, and told her father to follow him outside at once.
Had this father-daughter duo not returned to the horrifying scene, this boxer’s story would have ended much different…
In May 2014, a six-year-old girl named Cara was playing outside in her UK hometown. Suddenly, she noticed a large hole in the ground off in the distance.
Being the curious kid she is, Cara, ran up to inspect the hole and peeked in.
That’s when she saw a starving boxer with her head hung low in despair.
She knew she needed to do something, and fast.
Cara sprinted home and told her father, Kenny, to follow her back outside immediately.
Kenny listened to his daughter and couldn’t believe where she led him.
This “concrete grave” was covered with wooden planks that were held in place by heavy rocks so she couldn’t escape.
Kenny knew this elderly, emaciated, and blind boxer had been dumped inside the hole to die.
Cara and Kenny rescued the dog safely and, while she was in terrible condition, her heart was still warm and ready to love.
This poor dog was completely starved and had cracked teeth.
Kenny said, “We are a family of animal lovers and have a dog ourselves, so we took her home with us and gave her a tin of food, which she gulped down in under 15 seconds. We kept her at home that night and let her sleep on the sofa because she was clearly exhausted and distressed. In fact, my 15-year-old son Ethan slept on the other sofa to help her settle before we contacted the Rainbow Centre.”
The Rainbow Rehoming Centre rescues and re-homes abandoned and homeless cats and dogs.
The Centre got the boxer, now named Bella, the medical care she desperately needed.
Vets discovered that Bella was completely blind.
She also had an infection in her uterus due to overbreeding; she been used for breeding and was then discarded when she could no longer birth puppies.
It didn’t take long to realize that, despite the nightmare she’d endured, Bella was still gentle, loving and affectionate.
The Centre posted Bella’s story online. In just one day, the story reached more than 450,000 people. Overwhelming support flooded in from across the world.
…and pictured above is the moment Bella was introduced to her forever family. It was love at first sight.
Her foster family gave her a comfy bed and warm food…
…and all the love to make up for lost time.
Sadly, Bella passed away in 2015. Thankfully, the last year of her life was full of love and happiness.
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