When we first met Pup Tart, he had been stabbed and discarded. But he was alive, which meant there was still time to change everything.
Kind strangers had found him injured and alone. The open wound on his back looked painful, so they rushed him to a nearby vet. He didn’t wear a collar, but the staff found a microchip! They thought it would be the beginning of a reunion story, but instead, it was a gut-punch:
We don’t want him,” the man on the phone said flatly. No questions. No hesitation.
Later that evening, he came to us, and we added the pup to our program.
That night, Pup Tart curled up in our bathroom, tucked in with blankets and kindness. It wasn’t fancy. But it was safe. And it was his first step into a new life.
From there, a foster home stepped up, and everything changed.
Pup Tart recovered surrounded by kindness. He learned that people could be gentle. That beds could be soft. That walks could mean joy, not danger.
Pup Tart learned to trust. To play. To believe again. And when he was ready, the right person walked through the door and saw him.
His name is Spike now. He’s got a family including a dog brother who adores him, and they send updates: Spike snoozing on the couch, Spike hanging out with his brother, and simply being the dog he was always meant to be. The scar on his back is still there, but it’s not the story anymore. He is.
This is what fostering makes possible.
A dog once discarded now sleeps soundly in a home filled with love.
And if he could write a note, we think it might sound like this:
“Thank you for making space when there was none.
For choosing me when others turned away.
For the warmth of a bathroom floor and the love of a foster home.
For showing me that healing was possible and that family was still ahead.
Because of you, I didn’t just survive. I found my home.
Love,
Spike (forever Pup Tart in my heart) 🐾”
Have space in your home to help a friend of Spike?
Email Foster@friends4life.org or text 713-714-2215 or fill out a foster application