Neglected dog siblings saved by dedicated dog lover from harsh Texas sun after their pawrent passed leaving them covered with matted fur, fleas and ticks, new dog dad says: ‘They are so affectionate and playful now.’

Author image for Laurent Shinar
Laurent Shinar • Writer and Editor
Feb 17, 2026 3:00 PM EST

Sometimes when a pawrent passes their dogs end up falling through the cracks, being mistreats and mishandled. Which is what happened to the pair of puppers in this story who were lucky adopted by a dog lover looking to fill the void his recently passed dog had left behind.

It is not uncommon for a dog adoption story to come from a place of relieving grief, after all, doggos are great at sensing our emotional states and supporting us. But it is a bit more coincidental that these doggos would be going through a similar grieving process as their new pawrent. And that is what happened when one man, under the advice of the people close to him, started looking around for a dog to fill the void his soul dog left behind.

What he could have never imagined is that he would end up saving a pair of canines who not only had lost their pawrent recently, but had also been subjected to harsh conditions that had left them in a neglected and nasty state. And it seems that through healing these doggos, this man was able to heal a piece of his own soul too. Truly marvelous stuff.
 

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    CAPITA TION'S APITAL 12190 "They love food and cuddles and lying around on the couch watching tv."
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    I lost my dog, Dieter, earlier this summer. He was my baby for almost 10 years, and my best friend. It happened very suddenly, and I was heartbroken. My
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    family suggested I get a new puppy to help with the grief. I didn't agree with them, but thought it might not hurt to look.
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    CAPITAL
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    I looked on craigslist for cats needing to be rehomed to find a new companion for my cat, Jax. I saw an ad for lhasa apsos whose owner had passed. It
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    seemed like fate. I emailed the lady in the ad just wanting to meet them. She agreed, and we each drove an hour to meet somewhere in the middle.
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    When I saw them, I almost turned right around and went home. They were covered in mats and smelled awful. They were very scared of being out of their
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    crates and recoiled when I reached my hand out for them to smell. Turns out, their owner d d very suddenly of a brain
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    aneurysm and the dogs were sent to live with the girl's mom, who did not like dogs and left them out in her backyard. In Texas. In the summer.
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  • Wow. what a rough and tough roll of the dice these poor puppers have had up until this point in life. To have your pawrent pass away and suddenly at that must have been tough enough. But to then be subjected to a person who does not like dogs and is more than ok with subjecting them to subpar conditions, well, that takes a whole lot of mental fortitude and pawsitivty to survive. Thankfully it seems they managed to hold on until this doggo doter came around looking for a new pal (or two).

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    hing n ON'S APITAL 1790
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    I called a mobile groomer and offered her double to come out that night and shave down the dogs. I could see they had fleas and ticks and didn't want
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    to let them in my house in that shape. She came and we washed and shaved them. They were in such terrible condition. They didn't want to
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    Cheezburger Image 10604689920
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    do anything, but stay in their crates. I was so happy I didn't split them up, it was clear that they were very dependent on each other. Took them to
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  • No doubt that it was the right decision to bring them both home. After all that these puppers have been through the last thing that they needed was to be split up. And at that, we just have to take a moment to appreciate how nice it was of this man to go the extra mile and have the doggos cleaned and trimmed up. It must have been so uncomfortable for them to be living like they were and what more could one ask for than to be clean and comfortable as they settle into their furever home?

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    Cheezburger Image 10604688640
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    the vet the next day to get sh 's and microchipped. Poor Mickey had his eyes crusted over with pus from his eye ulcers, which the vet thinks was caused by
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    getting poked in the eye with sticks. It was clear they had been ab d. They shied away whenever I tried to reach for them and
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    hid once when I yelled when I was startled. Fast forward to current day. They are so affectionate and playful now. They
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    love food and cuddles and lying around on the couch watching tv. I was doing some research on the breed today after seeing an infographic on
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    which breeds are from where geographically and saw a blurb on wikipedia that said: "Lhasa Apsos often show happiness by rubbing their head
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    Cheezburger Image 10604691456
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    on their owners, running and rolling around, or sitting on their owner's feet". I could tell, for a while now, that my dogs love me. I'm not sure what
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    changed after reading that article.. maybe it was seeing Mickey's face looking at me, so trustingly while I put on his cone (he just got neutered yesterday), but I
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    realize I love the little guys too.
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fur dogs fleas siblings reddit story saved dedication pawrents sun neglect dog story texas dog lovers dog dad harsh
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