Every now and then there’s an animal ʀᴇsᴄᴜᴇ story that takes my ʙʀᴇᴀᴛʜ ᴀᴡᴀʏ. Oliviero’s is one such story.
Two women were strolling across the rivers of Messina in Southern Italy, when the ᴍᴜꜰꜰʟᴇᴅ ᴡʜɪᴍᴘᴇʀs of an animal caught their attention. They began to investigate the location of the noise and they discovered something in a garbage bag lying along the banks of the River Terme Vigliatore. What they found sʜᴏᴄᴋᴇᴅ and appalled them.
When the woman tore open the plastic bag, she found a dog in ᴘᴏᴏʀ condition. The scene was more ʜᴏʀʀɪꜰʏɪɴɢ when not far away, there was a ᴅᴇᴀᴅ calf lying Rᴏᴛᴛɪɴɢ nearby. The dog was ᴛʜʀᴏᴡɴ ᴀᴡᴀʏ ʟɪᴋᴇ ᴛʀᴀsʜ, ᴛɪᴇᴅ ᴜᴘ by electrical wires while vermin and ꜰʟʏ ʟᴀʀᴠᴀᴇ settled on the dog’s ʀᴀᴡ ᴍᴇᴀᴛ. He was so ᴇxʜᴀᴜsᴛᴇᴅ that he couldn’t stand up on his own.
The first thing the woman did was give the dog water to give him a boost. Then, they called the animal ʀᴇsᴄᴜᴇ staff to get help. Linda Li, an animal ʀᴇsᴄᴜᴇ volunteer, came and took the dog to the ᴠᴇᴛ. He seemed to know he was sᴀᴠᴇᴅ and it wagged its tail repeatedly.
They named the dog Oliviero. After ᴇxᴀᴍɪɴᴀᴛɪᴏɴ, they determined that he was ᴘᴀʀᴀʟʏᴢᴇᴅ in his hind legs due to an ᴜɴᴋɴᴏᴡɴ ɪɴᴊᴜʀʏ. Oliviero is cleaned of ticks and cleaned. He gets better every day thanks to the dedicated care of the ʀᴇsᴄᴜᴇ volunteers. Finally, Oliviero is adopted by a kind woman who will give him the love and family he deserves. Thank you to the ʟɪꜰᴇɢᴜᴀʀᴅs who helped change his life.
Bike thief temporarily thwarted by a lovable Golden Retriever being a terrible guard dog
The dog couldn’t care less that his owner was being robbed—he just wanted the thief to rub his belly.
People get dogs to be loving members of their families, but sometimes dogs have a second role—to guard the house. But not all dogs are made for guarding anything other than their favorite stuffed animal. Some dogs are too small to scare anyone away and some dogs will just lick intruders to death.
A Golden Retriever in San Diego just proved to his owners that he is definitely in the latter group. The shaggy dog caught a stranger stealing his owner’s $1,300, 2019 Electra 3-speed bicycle out of the family’s garage redhanded. But instead of barking to alert his humans or attempting to scare the bike thief, he happily asked for belly rubs.
If you thought the bike bandit was going to ignore the wagging tail and sweet doggy requests, then you’d be wrong. Now would be the perfect time to explain how the friendly dog stopped the robbery in its tracks.
“You’re so cool, come here! You’re the coolest dog I’ve ever known,” the thief tells the dog as he rubs his face. “I love you, too. Come here. You’re a sweetheart. I want you to come home with me.
Just a full-on, audible doggy-human love fest going on in the garage while the dog’s owner is none the wiser. The dog wasn’t working to distract the bike thief; he was there for his own personal gain, getting head scratches and belly rubs from all who enter the open garage. And while the dog momentarily thwarted the burglar, he didn’t prevent him from stealing the bike.
The man and the bike are now nowhere to be found, and there’s probably a sneaking suspicion that the family’s golden retriever wouldn’t alert anyone if the guy came back. A home surveillance camera caught the entire encounter, which was uploaded to TikTok where it has over 2.5 million views.
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