During his delivery route in Indiana on January 21, 2013, he spotted what he believed to be a Dalmation. His attention was drawn to the dog, which was on a very short chain in a snowy yard and appeared to be starving. The animal lacked food, water, and shelter.
“I could see every bone in his body,” he told his employer, according to HuffPost. “He was just lying there. I knew if that dog didn’t die from starvation, he was going to die from the weather. I didn’t want to have a confrontation, but I couldn’t just leave him there.”
Crowsley called the Clay County Humane Society to report the abuse of the dog, which belonged to someone who no longer deserved to have a pet. In the end, they discovered the pup wasn’t a Dalmatian, but a GREAT DANE that was extremely malnourished. He weighed 62 pounds, almost 100 pounds lighter than he should have. Phoenix, later named Phoenix, was taken from his “owners” and treated for blindness, deafness, pneumonia, and frostbitten ears. In addition to his blindness, he suffered from malnutrition, pneumonia, and frostbitten ears.
But he got the care he needed and was adopted by a wonderful family who set up a Facebook page for him called Phoenix Fighters.
Several months later, UPS shared Phoenix’s story on its Facebook page, when they were able to share the good news that the dog had been reunited with the man who saved him. Crowsley also met Phoenix’s new mom.
“We’ve waited several months to share this story with you because we wanted the first photo you see of Phoenix to be this sweet boy reunited with the UPS driver who helped save his life,” the company wrote in a Facebook post.
In July 2013, Phoenix was learning tricks and visited a nursing home for the first time to cheer up the residents. By then, he weighed 160 pounds and was becoming a therapy dog. By helping raise money for cancer research and for abused dogs like him, Phoenix was able to help raise money for cancer research.
While the Great Dane made a good recovery, he had a setback in 2015 when he and his brother Rigs fell into a coma and were poisoned. He recovered but then needed more surgery for an additional foot growth.
He was able to play with some children in his forever home, although he spent most of his time playing, eating, and being surrounded by his foster family.
No one knows how old Phoenix was when he was found, but they estimated that in 2018 he was around 9 years old – a little older than the average lifespan for a Great Dane.
And on March 12, 2019, Phoenix passed away peacefully in his adopted mother’s arms.
Although devastating, it was ultimately a fact of life for this pup, who grew from a scraggly dog to a happy chubby family pet in the final year of his life. It is still active and occasionally posts information about other animals that need help on the Phoenix Fighters Facebook page. Their rescue mascot was featured on a post earlier this year along with information on how people can help continue to rescue dogs.
Hopefully Phoenix’s story inspires all dog owners out there to act. These poor dogs deserve more than being neglected like trash. They have all nothing but love and affection for their owners. Let’s all be better creatures, fight animal cruelty, and make the world a better place for dogs like Phoenix, whether you own one or not.
