Unfortunately, dogfighting is still a huge problem in this country, despite laws being put into place to stop it.
People who run dogfighting operations own dozens, sometimes hundreds, of dogs and keep them in deplorable conditions. The dogs, who are usually pit bulls, are kept outside, tied up, and never given proper medical care.
They are forced to be aggressive toward each other in the dogfighting ring, with the submissive dogs getting brutally attacked and beaten. Once those wounded dogs are deemed unfit to fight, they are usually just left there to die.
Thankfully, there are organizations like Humane Society International of the Humane Society of the United States who are working hard at rescuing as many of these poor dogs as they can while working with law enforcement to prosecute their owners to the fullest extent of the law.
Olivia is one of those dogs who were rescued from a miserable life of dogfighting. She and 274 other dogs were being used in a dogfighting operation in South Carolina.
Rescuers could tell from her wounds that she had been in at least two fights before they saved her.
When they found her, she was severely emaciated and chained to a tree outside with no food or water.
She experienced extensive trauma, both physically and emotionally, but rescuers made it their mission to nurse her back to health.
Experiencing love and care for the first time, Olivia is learning how to trust humans again. Although her progress is slow, it is steady, and rescuers are confident that she will be back to full strength in no time.
Her transformation is already incredible, and one you have to see! Looking at her now, you’d never know the horrible life she has left behind.
Watch her story in the video below: