Shelter Dog Desperate For Affection Finally Finds The Loving Mom She Has Always Wanted

Six-year-old Leila’s skin is covered with painful sores and old scars, and she can hardly see. She was confused and uncomfortable waiting at the Miami shelter after being given up by her family.

The poor girl wanted human contact so much that she reached her paw out to everyone who walked past her kennel.

When Katy Hinkley Cassells saw a video of Leila asking for affection she jumped into action. She coordinated with Florida-based rescue group Helping Paws22 to get Leila out of the shelter and into her home.

“I like to take the dogs that are sick,” Cassells said. “She’s not the first who’s been abused and had a tough life.”

Cassells picked Leila up from the shelter while Leila slept most of the entire 1.5-hour drive home. When she woke up she immediately reached her paw toward Cassells.

Leila now lives in Wellington, Florida, where Cassells spends winters with five of her rescue dogs. The family’s other pets stay at home with Cassells’ veterinarian husband on 15 acres in St. Louis.

There’s a sort of grate pattern on her belly that Cassells doesn’t like to think about too much. Leila’s new veterinarian believes her scars and wounds may have been caused by burning.

Leila is on antibiotics and is being treated to regular medicated baths and hopefully will help erase whatever was done to her skin.

She will get spayed in a couple of weeks. She will have surgery on her eyes to correct inverted eyelashes, which may help her see better, too.

For now, Leila is being kept separate from the other dogs of the house, to give her a chance to decompress.

Leila is adapting very well despite being in an unfamiliar place. She was a little wary of her soft beds at her disposal, preferring to rest on the floor. Cassells feels certain that Leila will get used to all the other good things coming her way.

“She’s so sweet,” Cassells said. “She’s every bit as sweet as she looked in that video.”

Leila is being doted on by her devoted mom.

Cassells says that when Leila is snuggling on the couch, she gets so happy and excited that she’ll shake with joy. She doesn’t even like to eat her food right away when it’s put into her bowl.

“She’s too busy staring at me,” Cassells said. “She just wants you to love her and pet her all day long.”

Leila has her happily ever after, Cassells and Melanie Agnello, founder of Helping Paws22, hope that all the people who’ve fallen in love with Leila through her videos and her rescue story will be inspired to adopt a dog of their own.

“I think people saw the true face of a rescue dog,” Agnello said. “Each has a story to tell if just given the chance.”