Starving Dog Who Survived By Eating Twigs And Rocks Gets His Happily Ever After

A dog who had been eating twigs and rocks just a few months ago has found a happy ending.

WARNING: Graphic Content!

The Weimaraner named Alex was picked up on the streets of New Orleans and was taken to Vermillion Parish’s Rabies Animal Control weighing just 43 pounds.

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Alex was so severely emaciated that when Deanna Theis, assistant director of the Southern Animal Foundation, saw a photo of him, she was stunned he was still alive.

She knew he would not survive unless he was immediately pulled form the shelter, so that’s what she did.

While undergoing medical tests, X-Rays revealed that Alex had been so desperate for food that he had eaten rocks and twigs to fill his stomach.

His health was touch and go in the beginning. Alex’s severe starvation caused him a serious set back when his stomach reacted to the nutrition he was receiving and it flipped.

He had to have immediate emergency surgery to remove the foreign objects and to combat the dangerous condition, but the resilient dog pulled through.

After he had sufficiently recovered, he went into foster care with Diane Lundeen. She already has two Weimaraners at home and when she met Alex she fell in love with him right away. He fell in love too, gaining 10 pounds in the first week home with her.

Four months later, Diane knew she could not part with the dog whose eyes were so haunting when they first met. Those same eyes are bright and full of happiness now that he’s found a forever home with Lundeen and his new siblings.

Every picture Alex is in now, he’s smiling.

Lundeen says that he is almost 80 pounds now: “He has good color in his gums, his eyes are bright, when he goes to sit down he doesn’t whine. He has this incredible joy for life that’s awesome.”