People began posting about the dog, later named Feisty, which got the attention of Second Chance Rescue. With the help of a Good Samaritan, they got her transferred to an emergency hospital, where she was immediately started on antibiotics, fluids and pain medication. Feisty was in really rough shape, and at that point, her rescuers had no idea if she was going to make it.

“She was in terrible condition: sickly, dehydrated and malnourished with clumps of hair missing,” Rachel Larkin, director of social media for Second Chance Rescue, told The Dodo. “She was covered in urine and fleas, and her nails were so overgrown they were embedded into her paw pads. But the biggest concern was the masses on her body and whether they were cancerous or benign.”

Despite all of the pain she was in, Feisty was the sweetest dog from the very moment she was rescued. All she wanted was to be loved, and to thank everyone around her for giving her that love that she’d never known before.

“Feisty was pure love from the moment she was found laid out on that sidewalk,” Larkin said. “When our volunteers went to visit her the morning after she arrived at the hospital, she greeted them with gentle kisses and a happy, albeit hairless, tail that wouldn’t quit wagging.”

Since everyone suspected that Feisty had cancer, she was taken in by a foster family as a fospice dog. Her new family fell in love with her instantly — and when they found out that she didn’t have cancer after all, they were absolutely over the moon.

“When we got the news that Feisty’s biopsy results came back as benign and noncancerous, Feisty was no longer considered hospice,” Larkin said. “By the next morning, Feisty’s fospice parents had requested adoption papers. They knew she was already home.”

Feisty, whose parents call her FeeFee, is doing so well in her new life. She’s now a happy, healthy senior girl who gets to spend her days lounging around with a family who loves her, and they’re so grateful to have her in their lives.

“FeeFee aka Feisty is coming out of her shell,” Ursula Schmidt, Feisty’s mom, told The Dodo. “She’s begun to bark and (respectfully) demands cuddles, food and attention … She LOVES visitors and meeting everyone during walks. It is very important to her to greet everyone.”