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I have been involved in rescue for 15 years. I volunteer at the local shelters and work very hard to find homes for cats and dogs needing homes.

DOG. PHOTO: PIXABAY / ROMERO JOEL

I got a call three years ago from one of the shelters. They had just gotten Buddy as an owner surrender. It was obvious that he had been beaten and abused. They fractured his skull and blinded him. He was terrified of all the noise and smells at the shelter.

I had never had a blind dog, or a pit bull before. I agreed to foster him until a home could be found for him. But, after a week, I realized that Buddy was already home.

DOG. PHOTO: PIXABAY / JODY DAVIS

So, we learned together. I made an enclosure for him, to keep him safe. As he learned his way around, I gradually took down the barriers. Buddy had no problem finding his way around the house and yard. He could track and chase squirrels by sound. The other dogs finally accepted him into the pack.

He was the sweetest dog I've ever had. Even after all the suffering he endured, he just loved people, and attention. He changed everything I thought I knew about pit bulls. He loved our daily walks in the woods next to our house.

PHOTO: JEFFREY PETTIGREW

He got really sick a year ago, and we rushed him to the hospital. He was bleeding internally, and there was no saving him. When we got his ashes back, I scattered some of them over the trails we loved to walk together. I still miss him every day.

Story submitted by Jeffrey Pettigrew from Anderson, Indiana.

This story was originally shared on The Animal Rescue Site. Share your very own rescue story here!