Gus’s life did not start out well. The dog was discovered walking around Houston, Texas, with a bloated head and a severely wounded throat.

Houston K-911 Rescue set out to aid the dog, and it took some effort, but they ultimately caught him.

“We found him in this enclosed space in the back of the apartments where I lost him this morning,” they said on Facebook. We were ready to stroll straight by it when we saw the entrance and used a flashlight to peer inside. After a few seconds, we both commented on how awful it smelled in there. We were going to walk inside to look at a room when the dog came trotting out. He was ready to make a break for it through the gap when we stopped him.”

“You can see the shoelace in the last picture,” they said. SHOELACES ARE NOT SUITABLE FOR DOGS!!!”

Vergi, one of the rescuers, stated that the dog, Gus, was the “worst they’ve seen” in their dog rescue career.

While the vet was initially concerned about Gus’ recovery, the dog proved to be a fighter. Gus endured numerous surgery, but he survived and eventually began to recover strength and heal. Gus got a foster home with Houstin K-911 Rescue founder Anna Barbosa.

Barbosa created a Facebook page so that people could follow Gus’ progress as he healed and was finally placed for adoption.

However, only four months after Gus was rescued, Barbosa announced on Facebook that Gus had wiggled his way into her heart and would be staying with her family indefinitely.

“You’d think as the founder of Houston K-911 Rescue, Anna Barbosa would have a little tougher shell and that she’d be the last one to (as we call it in the rescue community) foster fail,” the post added. Well, I’m here to tell you that she FAILED BIG TIME…”She couldn’t let go of me.”

That was back in 2018, and since then, Gus has not only conquered his difficulties, but he is also trying to educate the public on the necessity of treating animals with respect!

Gus visits schools “to talk to the kids about being kind to animals,” according to his Facebook page.It’s usually a good idea to get them started while they’re little!”

Aside from that, he attends adoption events and serves as an ambassador!

Gus enjoys lounging at home when he isn’t on doggie duty spreading the word about being kind when adopting dogs.

He gets a lot of comfy blankets to cuddle up with, as well as a great yard to run about in and food to eat. He’s truly enjoying the high life!

It’s unfortunate that Gus’ life started out so rocky, but we’re overjoyed to see him thrive with his new family. Gus’ Journey, his Facebook page, is where you can keep up with him and other rescue dogs.