A light brown and white pit bull or similar breed dog indoors with a wooden floor in the background 3:12
The Dodo channel icon The DodoOriginal creator 640K views Save

The starving pit bull who became a velcro dog

When Arugula was found, she was wrapped in a blanket in an alley behind a house. The pit bull was so starved she couldn't lift her head. more

She went straight to an emergency vet. It took a few days before she could get up at all, and on her last day there she managed a few weak steps. Good girl, she hears. You can do it.

From there she went to a foster home in Chicago, bundled in a sweater because it was chilly outside. Her body had shut down. Even sitting and getting up took practice, and her legs still wobbled.

A dog in a gray sweater stands in snow with her head lowered toward the ground. A headline runs in white letters across the lower third.Save
Out of the hospital, Arugula heads to her foster home in a sweater to keep warm.

It took weeks for her to build back enough strength and muscle to be a normal dog. The cheering never let up. Look at you, look at you, big girl. Bit by bit she went from standing to walking around the house, and then to walks outside.

Her personality showed up in a very dog way. The first sign of it, the people caring for her say, was that she started barking for food.

When it was time to find her a home, they looked for someone without a super busy life, and someone who already had a dog. Heidi fell in love with her online. Once she saw Arugula's story, she knew she wanted to adopt her.

Arugula still needed to gain 10 pounds when she moved in. She did. So did Hunter, the dog she now shares a home with. The two sleep on the same bed and play all the time.

A light brown and white pit bull or similar breed dog indoors with a wooden floor in the background. The headline runs in white letters across the lower third.Save
When Arugula was found, she was wrapped in a blanket in an alley behind a house.

Arugula has a face that can look very sad or very grumpy, Heidi says, but she is the farthest thing from it. Heidi's kids absolutely love her.

"At the end of the day she just wants to be next to you," Heidi says. "She's just such a lover, and she's got the mushy face." Her name for Arugula is "my little velcro dog," and she feels lucky to have her.

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