When Elliot was brought into Lifeline Animal Project shelter in Georgia, he was on the verge of death. The small gray pup with kind eyes was only three pounds when he was abandoned by his owners on the side of the road. Fortunately, there were plenty of kind people at the shelter to help him
One person, in particular, became instantly connected to the tiny pit bull. Daphne Bragg was completely taken aback when she met Elliot. “He literally could fit in the palm of my hand,” she explained in an interview with The Dodo. As soon as Daphne saw Eliot, it was painfully obvious that he was in terrible shape.
As a volunteer at the shelter, Daphne had seen plenty of injured and abused dogs come through the shelter’s doors. This time, though, her heartstrings were being pulled in a different way. “Seeing a dog that small in such a big shelter in that condition … I wanted him to make it.” Soon enough, Daphne knew that she needed to do something to help the tiny pup.
So Daphne decided to make a drastic, but life-changing, decision….she welcomed Elliot into her home. Even though she already had three pit bulls at home, Daphne couldn’t leave the shelter without Elliot. The pit bulls, who were much longer and stronger than the young dog, did everything they could to be gentle with him.
Regardless of what Elliot has gone through, Daphne says that she’s extremely surprised by how outgoing and friendly Elliot is. “A human didn’t care for him, so the fact that he was so trusting and loving to a human, that’s not something you see every day,” she said. You see, Elliot wasn’t ruined, he just needed someone to care for him.
Unfortunately, Elliot’s weight wasn’t the only issue that he had to deal with. One of the pup’s eyes was severely infected. The veterinarian had to do something, but their options were limited.
Since Elliot was so small and very weak, the vet didn’t want to perform surgery. Instead, the vet thought it would be best to wait until the dog was a little stronger. Daphne didn’t want him to go through the procedure, but she wanted him to feel better. Fortunately, Elliot was a fighter from the very beginning of his life.
Elliot thrived at Daphne’s home with the other dogs. She fed him, showed him love and attention, and the little pup was growing stronger every day. Elliot’s eye infection healed so he didn’t need to have surgery after all. But there was still a few things that needed to be worked out.
->**Elliot’s Legs**<- Elliot’s legs weren’t formed correctly and they bowed out from his body, so he had to wear casts to fix them. “He did not let them (the casts) slow him down. Once he got them off it was kind of like he had to learn to walk again,” said Daphne. He may have had some obstacles, but because he got proper care, Elliot is thriving now!
View this post on Instagram Can’t slow me down! #carrotsticks #in4lifeline #fosteringsaveslives #crusin A post shared by Elliot (@elliotthebug) on Jul 7, 2018 at 9:51am PDT
Daphne gives the credit to her other dogs for teaching Elliot how to actually be a dog. “He’s super outgoing. He’s confident. He’s not afraid of anything. He definitely completed the pack … he’s one of the big dogs now,” explained Daphne. Elliot is now a happy and healthy part of the pack, and it’s because someone showed him a bit of love and care.
