Dice had been stuffed into a cage, tossed into a yard, and abandoned to die. He would not have survived if no one had spotted the 3-year-old pit bull mix – happily, he was discovered.

In early November, police officers were issuing eviction papers in a Fort Lauderdale, Florida, area when youngsters alerted them to Dice, who was sitting in a cage outside an abandoned apartment.

“The renters moved out and left him in the backyard in a cage with no food or water,” Tracey Godin, cofounder of Loxahatchee, Florida-based Feeling Fine Rescue, told The Dodo. “Of course, the cops asked the kids how long the dog had been there, and they replied he’d been there a week or more.”

But Dice has most likely been ignored for much longer.

“He hadn’t been nourished properly for months,” Godin explained. “The last week was really the ultimate degradation.”

The cops contacted animal control, who transferred Dice to a nearby shelter. Godin’s buddy, who volunteers at the shelter, saw Dice enter and photographed him. Godin was astonished and heartbroken when she received the photographs from her buddy.

“It just stole your breath away,” Godin remarked. “I had no idea how he was still alive. My eyes welled up with tears.”

The next day, Godin and her daughter Micaela rescued Dice from the shelter and hurried him to the vet.

“He couldn’t walk more than 5 or 6 feet without collapsing,” Godin explained. “We were at the vet’s parking lot, and when he took one step to get up on the sidewalk, he couldn’t support his body weight and fell.” “I didn’t believe he’d make it.”

“He weighed 30 pounds, but he should have weighed 65 pounds,” she explained. “He was very dehydrated and anemic.” There was no muscular mass in his body, and you could see his skull. His eyes were deep into his skull. He would not have survived if he had been in that cage another day, in my view.”

Dice came to live at Feeling Fine Rescue, which Godin and her daughter manage from their house, once he was healthy enough to leave the vet. They were both impressed by Dice’s quick comeback.

“He grew 10 pounds in a week,” Godin added. “He gained 40 pounds in one week.” He was 50 pounds two weeks later, and 65 pounds by the weekend. Every day, you could tell a difference in the dog.

“It’s absolutely astonishing to witness how a dog can go through so much at the hands of people and… be immediately ready to love and trust new people,” The Dodo’s Micaela Godin said. “Dice has been the most loving dog from the day we met him.” He has a fantastic personality.”

Dice’s good fortune continued. In late December, he piqued the interest of a family seeking for a third dog.

“They fell in love with him the minute they saw him,” Tracey Godin explained. “They paid him many visits.” They requested whether they could have a meet-and-greet with their two current dogs on their property.”

Dice not only got along with the family’s two other canines, but he also bonded with their two little children during the meet-and-greet. Dice was placed with the family on a foster-to-adopt arrangement two weeks later.

But, just a few days later, the family decided Dice should stay.

“They contacted me last night and said, ‘We’re more in love with him than the first time we met, and we’d want to never bring him back,’” Tracey Godin explained. “I was sobbing because this family is simply fantastic… and Dice couldn’t have gone to a nicer home.”

Dice, on the other hand, appears to be aware of how fortunate he is right now.

“The family is telling me how fast he acclimated, like if he’s been there forever,” Tracey Godin said. “One of the kids came home from school yesterday and said, ‘I’m pleased you’re here, Dice, you’re not going back to the rescue.’” I really missed you when I was in school.’”

“We save a lot of dogs, and they all have tales, and they all come from such horrible backgrounds,” Micaela Godin explained. “However, Dice is resilient in how quickly and elegantly he bounced back.” He’s incredibly fortunate and strong to have made it through this and come out on the other side so fast and effectively. “It was definitely a miracle,” I say.