When Bret Winingar and his son Zach were out for a motorcycle ride in the rural countryside of Little Rock, Arkansas, they spotted an old pet carrier lying in a field by the side of the road. They went to look inside and were shocked to find an emaciated dog locked inside.
The dog was seriously underweight, had nails that were so long they had curled back into her paws and the inside of the crate was covered in feces. They quickly drove off to get her some food and when they returned with a bag of kibble they noticed the crate had a hole chewed out of the top. The poor dog must have tried to chew her way out!
They coaxed her out of the crate with the food and she was hunched over from being inside the small crate for too long.
They gave her a few bites of food and then briefly left again to get a truck to transport her in. They named her Charlie Bravo, or CB for short. The moment she was inside their truck, she immediately showed her gratitude to her rescuers.
The first thing they did when they got home was cut her ingrown nails. The next thing they did was to clean her up and arrange for her to visit the vet.
The vets believe CB’s around 8 months old. They tended to the sores on her body, which were likely caused by her confinement. They don’t know how long CB was trapped inside the crate but it must have been for quite some time because her normally white paws had been stained brown from her excrement and urine. Bret guesses CB may have been in the crate for longer than a month.
Soon CB’s story got out (through their Facebook page) and the family received donations from social media channels which covered CB’s medical costs. The Winingars plan on giving the extra donations they received for CB to local animal shelters and perhaps set up a foundation of their own for rescue animals, aptly named ‘Charlie’s Angels’.
Bret is no stranger to rescues, having four rescue dogs under his roof. He had not originally planned on keeping CB, but after nursing her back to health, he couldn’t part with her.
It’s been a month since her rescue, and CB’s time in a loving home has done wonders for her. She’s gained weight, her sores are healing and she has changed from a timid, almost feral dog into one who loves to cuddle and play with her new family.
Thank goodness the Winingars stopped and looked inside that crate! Share their heartwarming rescue of CB with your friends and family!
Leave a reply
