Marley the dog has spent the last five years chained up to a dog house in the backyard of a rural Virginia home – but now, after being given a loving forever home, he has made an awe-inspiring transformation.
Members of the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) have been keeping their eyes on Marley since they first became aware of his predicament several years ago. The organization says that the pup was so neglected, he did not even know the sound of his own name – he was only familiar with the word “no”.
While PETA members periodically visited Marley at his dog house, they were unable to do much about his predicament because state law does not have a lot of protective legislation for neglected pets.
WATCH: Kitten Has Team of Piglets to Watch Over Him During His Seizures
PETA representatives told Good News Network: “Until he became emaciated, his conditions were considered in compliance with the law. PETA has been working with local officials to pass a chaining ordinance, which we hope would help dogs like Marley in the future.”
“In these areas, for now, we have no recourse but to remain persistent and maintain good relationships with the dogs’ owners … otherwise, we run the risk that they’ll refuse to let us help their animals at all,” they added.
Thankfully, after lots of heavy persuasion, Marley’s owner finally agreed to relinquish the pup to the rescue organization.
RELATED VIDEO: Dog Chained Up For 15 Years Finds New Home Thanks to Ricky Gervais
The dog was treated for his condition and was eventually adopted by Michael Moss, who has transformed Marley from a sad mutt into a happy hound.
“I really, really liked his little attitude that he had and the spirit that he had that wasn’t going to be broken,” says Moss. “He’s got toys, bones, treats, and Kyah—and a big backyard he can play in .… That’s all I really want. I just want him to be happy.”
(WATCH the heartwarming video below)
Click To Share The Pawesome News With Your Friends
So happy for Marley! And yes, cases like his are exactly why chaining needs to be outlawed everywhere. Dogs are family members–not lawn ornaments.
FRIENDLY REMINDER: PETA is the WORST animal organization. They have an extremely high kill rate (95-99% when average is less than 45%) for more information you can read articles here: https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2012/03/petas-terrible-horrible-no-good-very-bad-history-of-killing-animals/254130/and many more…