by 
It’s the responsibility of animal shelters and rescues to give every animal a fighting chance, even when they’re in poor shape and the odds are against them.
Like one puppy, who was saved by an animal rescue after narrowly being euthanized — and survived thanks to a blood donation from one sweet dog.
According to The Dodo, Elli Smith, the founder of Sky Sanctuary Rescue in Arizona, saw a limp, white puppy being taken in to a local humane society. Sensing the weak, nearly-lifeless puppy would be euthanized, she intervened, saying she would try to treat the puppy instead.
When the humane society said that they were planning to euthanize the dog, the 3-week-old pup was put in her care. But while the puppy was spared euthanasia, the odds were still stacked against her.
The puppy, now named Penelope, was covered in ticks and had no platelets in her blood, and was “ghost white.” They weren’t sure if the puppy would make it — but decided to do everything they could to save her.
“Her blood values were so low that their machine could barely read them,” Sky Sanctuary Rescue wrote on Instagram. “She needed a blood transfusion and fast if we had any chance of saving her.”
Dr. Jen Gilson happened to know two dogs who would happily donate blood: her own pets, Murphy and Riggs.
Murphy turned out to be a perfect match, and gave some blood to save the puppy’s life. “Just a few syringes of Murphy’s blood brought Penelope back. You could literally see the color rush back to her gums and the life into her eyes.”
A photo shows Murphy checking in on the little puppy after the blood transfusion. “This was such a special moment, I have to imagine Penelope is quite thankful for Murphy… her hero,” the rescue wrote.
Penelope survived — and that wasn’t the only good news. The puppy was soon reunited with her mom!
According to The Dodo, the rescue took in 25 sick dogs living in poor conditions in a “fenced-in pen.” One of these dogs was Penelope’s mother, Petunia, who had spent her life in a “dirt hole.”
After the mama dog was treated for ticks, she was happily reunited with her puppy:
According to the rescue, Penelope is Petunia’s only surviving puppy, and the two have been providing each other comfort after both surviving such heartbreaking circumstances.
“Petunia + Penelope are back together and it was so special,” the rescue wrote. “We are so thankful.”
We’re so glad this puppy survived and got to reunite with her mom! Thank you to the team at Sky Sanctuary Rescue, and Murphy, for saving her life.
Share this beautiful story!
