Dog With Broken Legs Saved By The Man Who Found Her in the Woods

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With its vast collection of more than a million subreddits catering to a wide range of specific communities, Reddit offers a wealth of resources and experiences. Among the most endearing of these is the “BeforeNAfterAdoption” subreddit, which serves as a platform for rescuers and dog parents to share their heartfelt stories of pet adoption. The subreddit is particularly popular among dog lovers, who cherish the touching photos and videos that demonstrate the beauty of saving animals.

One such video was recently posted by Graham Whatmough, who goes by the username “u/WhereTheHighwayEnds” on Reddit. The video captures the sheer joy and exuberance of his dog Willow as she revels in the great outdoors. It is hard to imagine that this energetic and carefree pup was once found starving and immobile in the woods. Indeed, the heartwarming story of her rescue and subsequent adoption seems almost predestined, as if written by fate itself.

An Strange Discovery In The Woods

Four years ago, Whatmough quit his job in the oilfield to pursue his passion of being a freelance photographer and videographer. He spends much of his time outdoors exploring beautiful places. One day, he discovered something a little different on a hike through the woods.

While traversing his usual route through the woods, Whatmough opted to take a divergent trail on a particular day. As he paused to capture an image of some berries that had caught his eye, his attention was drawn to something peculiar.

Upon taking a few more steps forward, he came upon a fallen tree behind which lay a motionless, off-white creature. Initially, he presumed it to be a small deer or a coyote in hiding, given its stillness and lack of audible signals. However, upon closer inspection, he discovered a pink collar, which indicated that it was a dog.

Earning the Dog’s Trust

Initially, the dog displayed indications of fear aggression, including bared teeth and growling, causing Whatmough to maintain a distance of at least 15 feet from her, fearing that she might flee. He attempted to placate her by tossing some of the berries he had just collected, the only food available to him. To his gratification, she responded by consuming the berries and even wagging her tail slightly.

To address her thirst, he provided her with some water from his personal bottle, which she consumed hastily. Given the dog’s apparent thirst, Whatmough returned to his vehicle to retrieve more water for her.

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“Now that she warmed up I coaxed her to get up and walk I saw she was almost walking entirely on her front legs at some points both her back legs seemed to come right off the ground. I still thought that she was maybe just needing food and exercise after being stuck in the forest for a while.”

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“When the vet started listed my options as amputation, a very expensive surgery or surrendering her to bylaw where she would most likely be euthanized I decided to take care of her at least until I could find someone that was able to adopt her.

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“I am outside hiking 2-6 hours everyday summer and winter and she loves it all. She really loves the snow but after about 4hrs in -30C she starts to try and get her paws off the snow and looks for shelter and I know it’s time to go back home.”

“She also would show some signs of discomfort when I would stretch and pull her back legs but I would always stop and then she would let me stretch her some more. She progressively resisted less and less and now she doesn’t seem to mind at all when I really pull hard and work to stretch her.”

See the video below:

Here is video of me walking out a dog I found malnourished in the woods…When I took her to the vet I found that both of her rear femurs were badly broken and beginning to set about an inch shorter than they should be. I adopted her and after lots of stretching and exercise here Willow is today 🙂
by u/WhereTheHighwayEnds in BeforeNAfterAdoption