A small white curly-furred dog, possibly a Maltese, stands outdoors on concrete with metal poles and scattered urban items in soft natural daylight. 8:25
Hope For Paws - Official Rescue Channel channel icon Hope For Paws - Official Rescue ChannelOriginal creator 314K views Save

Cheeseburger bits win over a scared street dog

Eldad and Loreta of Hope for Paws hit a red light on the way. Then they spot her, a small white dog by a busy road, and she slips behind an iron fence. more

The text that sent them out was urgent, and the street shows why. Cars and motorcycles keep roaring past. The first thing they say about her is how little she is.

A small white dog stands on sunny pavement beside a blue wall and a metal fence gate. A headline runs in white letters across the lower third.Save
At first she keeps the iron fence between herself and the two rescuers.

Loreta is uneasy, since the area has a reputation for gang trouble. She tosses pieces of cheeseburger to the hungry dog and wants to reach through the bars to grab her. Eldad stops her. "Loreta, not through the fence," he says, because a scared dog that close could bite.

His plan is slower. Drop the burger near the snare, so the loop on the ground stops looking strange. Throw other pieces farther off, so she can eat at a distance that feels safe. "Let her get comfortable with that stick," he says, and someone admits, "My hands are shaking."

It takes a long time. The loop is too big, and the fence leaves almost no room to move it. The dog cares only about the next bite. They whistle and make kissing sounds, a car honks, and the crumbs keep coming.

A white fluffy dog walks toward the camera across pavement, with construction materials nearby. A headline runs in white letters across the lower third.Save
Piece by piece, the cheeseburger draws her closer to the people who came for her.

Then the loop finally closes. She jumps and pulls to get away, and the voices go soft and steady: "It's okay, it's okay, good girl." Loreta adds a second lead, the Lucky Leash. "You can pet her now. It's better now just to calm her down."

She turns down more food. What she wants is the petting. With some coaxing and a little help, front legs first, she's out from behind the fence, and someone asks her politely, "Can I pick you up? Is that okay?"

Once she's in their arms, she settles. "I don't think she wants to go anywhere," one of them says. "Why would she?" By now she has a name, Freya, and she rides away in a crate in their van.

A small white curly-furred dog, possibly a Maltese, stands outdoors on concrete with metal poles and scattered urban items in soft natural daylight. The headline runs in white letters across the lower third.Save
Eldad and Loreta of Hope for Paws hit a red light on the way.

At Cares, a scan finds no microchip. It does find ticks, several of them. She gets a bubble bath, then a once-over with a device that hunts for any ticks left behind.

The last scenes find Freya in a foster home with children, playing, and she seems made for it. "She's like a bunny," someone laughs. After that it's mostly her name, said again and again.

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