“If he has a chance, it’s here.”

It was the day before Halloween when the folks at Stray Rescue of St. Louis (SRSL) received a horrifying message. A woman had found an emaciated puppy in a box, and he looked like he only had moments left to live.

The dog was frigid and seemingly lifeless in the box, but with the photo came a hopeful message.

“[H]e’s still breathing,” SRSL wrote on Facebook. “[W]e’re ready for him.”

The SRSL team quickly agreed to take the pup in, and they dropped everything the second he arrived. Having seen his picture, they knew the tiny boy was in rough shape, but they were shocked to discover just how fragile he was.

“[T]his little pup [is] cold to the touch,” SRSL wrote on Facebook. “He’s so cold we weren’t able to get his temperature to read.”

You can see footage of the dog in a box here:

Without skipping a beat, everyone stepped in to help warm this little guy up.

“We warmed him with as many heat sources as we could: warm water beneath him, warm towels, a heating pad, warm fluids and a bear hugger …” SRSL wrote.

Despite all their attempts, the team couldn’t seem to keep the dog’s — whom they named Renlo — temperature up by the end of the night, so they decided to transfer him to an overnight care facility. There, Renlo could receive 24/7 support and hopefully warm up again.

“[T]heir amazing team all jumped into action so fast,” SRSL wrote. “If he has a chance, it’s here.”

Thankfully, Renlo made it through the night and was able to return to SRSL for the rest of his treatment plan. He slowly began to improve, and just three days after his rescue, the resilient boy was able to stand on his feet for a short walk.

Even when he didn’t have the strength to walk, his attentive nurses were there to support his every need.

“He gets exhausted really fast, so we just go on slow walks and sit in the sun before we head back in for a long, healing nap,” SRSL wrote on Facebook. “He’s taking it day by day, and he’s doing so good. What a brave, strong angel boy.”

Renlo certainly had a long road of healing ahead, but thankfully, he wouldn’t have to spend it all in the shelter. Renlo found a medical foster home less than a week after being rescued, where he could rest and recover in peace.

“THIS is what good, solid, relaxing rest looks like! He’s going to heal so much faster — both physically and emotionally — in someone’s arms than he would in our chaotic and noisy shelter,” SRSL wrote on Facebook.

Renlo quickly settled in with his foster family and has been thriving ever since. While he’s still severely underweight, being in a medical foster home has given him a second chance at life. And the folks at SRSL are beyond thankful.

“We often ask for ‘medical foster homes.’ That term might be misleading because you don’t need any medical background at all,” SRSL wrote. “THIS is a medical foster home. It’s a comfy, cozy home just like this. If you take home a recovering patient, all you need to do is listen to [the] doctor’s orders (feeding instructions/physical limitations) and bring them in for check-ups. We provide everything else they need.”

Thanks to SRSL’s dedicated team and his new foster parents, Renlo is recovering swiftly. In just a few months, he should be fully healthy again and ready to find a forever home. Until then, he’s enjoying every moment with his loving foster family and the friends he’s made along the way.

“[S]ince I left for foster, I spend every night in a lap,” SRSL wrote on Facebook, in Renlo’s voice. “I sleep all the time and I am healing a little bit more every day.”

To inquire about adopting Renlo, you can fill out an application here.

To volunteer as a foster for Stray Rescue of St. Louis, you can sign up here.

To help pets like Renlo get the care they need, you can donate to Stray Rescue of St. Louis here.