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It was on a rainy night a little over a year ago when my mom and brother came home with this skinny, small dog, Django, who stole my heart the first time I saw him, giving me a kiss and wagging his tail.

DOG. PHOTO: PIXABAY / MARI

My mom almost ran him over when she was picking up my brother from practice, and the little dog was so afraid that he just stood there in the middle of the road. At home, we already had another rescue dog, Zida, and my dad had his mind set on not having any other dog, but my mother couldn't resist him and my dad fell in love with him as fast as all of us.

The morning after, when we looked at him, we saw why he had run away. He was so skinny that we could see all his ribs, he had bruises and burns, and with time, we came to realize that he was terrified of a lot of things: heat, brooms, even a sudden movement would make him run away.

DOG. PHOTO: PIXABAY / MANFRED RICHTER

For a long time, I was the only one able to touch his back paws without him running away or showing his teeth. But we also realized that he was the sweetest dog on earth, always asking for pets, following us around just to give us a kiss, and even now with three rescued dogs (we have two more girls), he is the most loyal dog I have ever seen.

All a rescued dog needs is love, unconditional love, and knowing that no one will ever leave him or abuse him again, and we show him that every day.

PHOTO: MARTA FROM LISBON, PORTUGAL

Story submitted by Marta from Lisbon, Portugal.

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