Nerds Republic

The severe rains of late summer and early autumn have caused major flooding along the eastern coast of the United States, forcing many people to flee their homes for higher ground. Conway, South Carolina, was hit hard by the flooding, but amid the panic and uncertainty, a beautiful new friendship was born.

People wade through the rising waters, carrying what belongings they can as they evacuate.

Neighbors helping each other evacuate Waccamaw Drive in Conway. pic.twitter.com/0hMNrwUbAW

— Jason Lee (@TSN_JLee) October 5, 2015

Alex Scroggins was in Conway, SC, helping a family gather belongings when he spied a dog on a neighbor’s porch. As the waters were rising and people were rushing around, the dog was understandably frightened. But Scroggins assumed that the dog’s owners were nearby. After all, who would leave a dog trapped in a flood?

Well, someone did. When the dog remained on the flooded porch, Scroggins finally asked someone what was going on. It turns out the dog’s owner had left a few days prior — and left the dog behind.

Conway flood evacuees save life of Lucky the dog http://t.co/G0R2CVSIYc pic.twitter.com/1TyI92GURD

— The Sun News (@TheSunNews) October 6, 2015

On learning that the dog had been so callously abandoned, Scroggins decided to step in. “I approached him, and he was skittish at first, since his owner had left him high and dry,” he recalls. “After I put my hand out and let him get used to me, he calmed down and I pet him.”

“We scooped him up and took him to safety on the boat,” Scroggins said. “He was almost without a dry place to stand by the time I found him. That dog was going to be swept out.”

With the dog loaded up into the boat, he could be safely transported away from the flood. You can see him here peeking out from behind the couch.

This dog was abandoned at a flooded home on Waccamaw Drive. Some Good Samaritans rescued him. #SCFlood #SCflooding pic.twitter.com/d248YiRqhq

— Charles Perry (@TSN_CharlesPerr) October 5, 2015

After getting to safety, Scroggins tried to find a no-kill shelter for the dog, but they were all full. Not only that, but the dog refused to leave his side. He named the pup Lucky.

He also learned that the original owner had no interest in getting the dog back, and that the Humane Society had been called in on this person for negligence before.

(via The Dodo)

So that’s how Scroggins ended up with the dog, who he’s since named Lucky. He hadn’t planned on getting a dog, but he’s okay with how things have turned out. “I feel like [Lucky] understands what happened, ’cause now he refuses to leave my side,” he says. “It makes me feel better knowing the dog is in a better place than he was. If you see someone in need of help and you can do something, then do something — that goes for people and animals. If you can help out, try. That’s what I hope people take away from this.”

The people of Greece aren’t the only ones suffering from the economic troubles that are weighing the country down. When the citizens can hardly bear to support and feed themselves and their children, pets fall to the wayside. For most families, it’s a sorrowful decision to surrender their beloved family pets or leave them to fend for themselves on the streets. But there are others who seem to get some sick joy from watching these poor, defenseless animals suffer.

Theoklitos Proestakis used to be a dentist, but he gave up everything — literally all of his things and his job — to help as many dogs as he could.

Warning: some of the images are hard to look at.

Proestakis, known as Takis, used to be a dentist in Lerapetra, a town in the south of Crete, but he couldn’t stand what he was seeing.

Spaying and neutering animals isn’t widely practiced in Greece, simply because of the expense.

Puppies are discarded on the regular, on top of all the older dogs being abandoned.

The amount of dogs wandering the streets was too much for him to bear in good conscience.

So he gave up his job, his car, and used all of his money to help as many dogs as possible.

Three years ago, he singlehandedly started a shelter without any financial help. He was struggling to keep the operation afloat until social media caught wind of one of the more extreme rescues…

Hope was skinned alive by some monster before being thrown away like trash to suffer in the hot, dry sun.

But Takis wasn’t about to let her die.

This is Hope now, doing light-years better. When people saw the miracles Takis was working, fundraising sites and inquiries started popping up from all corners of the world.

Most of the donations come from other parts of Europe and the United States.

Takis has saved over 200 dogs to date and has re-homed about 40 of them.

There’s not a day that goes by that he doesn’t find another dying dog in the streets.

He works seven days a week, full-time. Even when he goes home, he spends time posting his pups online in hopes of finding them new families.

The expense for feeding as many dogs as Takis has to is astronomical, but he’s glad to make it happen.

But now that some of his animals have sponsors and people are donating to his cause, the strain has been lifted a bit, and the dogs are getting fed every day.

Last month, Takis was even able to afford a car to transport the pups to the vet in! This is a huge milestone.

You can really tell all the dogs are so happy to be living in the shelter.

They get so much love, attention, and care from one very dedicated man.

Takis will continue to help the animals suffering from human political failure for as long as there is a need.

Every donation counts towards saving another pup.

Oh, and he doesn’t forget about all the kitties that need his help, too.

“It’s difficult but I love it. I work so hard here but when I see the dogs happy and enjoying themselves and learning to trust people again, then it’s all worth it.”

(via Daily Mail)

For one man to leave a comfortable, stable life behind in order to pursue an unsure road like this is truly noble. If only more people were like Takis, the world would be a much better place.

If you’re interested in giving one of these dogs a home, send Takis a message via the shelter’s Facebook page (you’ll also want to follow the page for updates)! If you want to lend a helping hand from across an ocean, you can donate, too.

Not too long ago, the Chicago Police Department found two very skinny dogs in an abandoned building. Luckily, after the force removed them from their horrid home, they called the Trio Animal Foundation and asked for help getting them to an emergency room.

Here they are with the group of police who found them.

Emmy weighed just over 20 pounds, and was too weak to walk, or even stand, so she took a seat on Oscar. Sadly, he wasn’t in any better shape.

They were severely anemic, with high white blood cell counts, and were unbelievably dehydrated. This is what happens when someone enters starvation mode.

The hospital started them on IV fluids, in addition to slowly feeding them a diet consisting of many small, high-fat meals. Too much food at once makes organ failure a distinct possibility.

Soon enough, these pups were no longer bags of bones, but actual, warm-blooded canines.

Emmy even found her forever home while she was bouncing back from this tragedy…

One of her vet techs, Anthony, had formed quite a bond with the spunky fighter. He used to carry her around on his shoulders when she didn’t want him to leave her side and was too weak to walk around.

When Trio came to pick her up from the hospital, Anthony teared up, knowing that he couldn’t possibly give up this amazing bond. He took her home that day!

Oscar is healthy as can be, too…

And he’s ready to be adopted! He’ll need a home that will keep up with all of the hard work he’s put into training, as he has some residual trust issues that he needs to work through. Who can blame him? This tragedy is enough to make any pooch skeptical and cautious of humans. But generally, he’s a happy, well-behaved dog who simply needs a loving home.

We wish Oscar only the best, and hope that his adorable smile gets bigger by the day — we imagine he’ll find his forever home in no time! If you think he’s a good fit for your family, here’s how to look into adopting him.

And if you’d like to see more happy endings like this, you can donate to the Trio Animal Foundation to help support more recoveries for deserving dogs!