After wandering into a junkyard one day, 12-year-old Duncan crawled under a dumpster and lay down, tired and defeated. One of the employees noticed him under there and quickly brought the poor senior dog some food and water. The employee could see that Duncan was blind and in terrible condition, and while her boss wanted to call animal control, she knew he probably wouldn’t last long in a public shelter. Instead, she quickly contacted a rescue.

Hope for Paws got the call about Duncan and rushed out to the junkyard to save him. Rescuers offered him some more food, but the sweet old dog was so disoriented and confused, his rescuers knew it would be best to get him out of there as quickly as possible.

They slipped a leash around his neck …

… and being old, blind and sick, Duncan didn’t object, and let his rescuers slowly pull him out from under the dumpster.

Once he was out, they could see how truly neglected poor Duncan was. He had a piece of rope tied around his neck, meaning that someone had been responsible for him at one point, and had completely let him down.

In the car on the way to the vet, Duncan let his rescuers pet and love on him, and it may have been the first time he’d received any affection in years.

“I’m sorry whoever did this to you, I’m so sorry,” Duncan’s rescuers said to him over and over, in a video about his rescue.

The vet told Duncan’s rescuers that in addition to being blind, he was also suffering from dehydration, a skin disease, ulcers and two seperate tumors. Doctors recommended that Duncan be put down to end his suffering, but his rescuers decided they didn’t want his life to end like that. After so many years of neglect, they wanted him to finally know what it’s like to be loved.

Knowing that Duncan was definitely a difficult case, Hope for Paws reached out to staff at Frosted Faces Foundation to see if they would take him on, as they specialize in taking care of senior dogs. They quickly agreed and got Duncan into a foster home — and everyone was amazed by how much Duncan changed as soon as he was in a loving home.

While Duncan unfortunately also suffers from dementia, that hasn’t stopped him from adjusting to life in foster care and enjoying everything his foster family has to offer him. He loves to snuggle and hang out in laundry baskets, and while he may get confused sometimes, there’s always someone around to comfort him, which is exactly what he needs. There’s no telling how much longer Duncan will live, but no matter what happens, he’s finally loved and getting the chance he’s always deserved.

Watch the full video of Duncan’s rescue below: