When Rachael Sylvester, founder and director of a dog rescue called Sidewalk Specials in South Africa, learned about a dog who had been sleeping outside for three years, she knew she had to help. She and her team went to the pup’s house to meet him and were immediately heartbroken by what they found.

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Spencer had spent the last three years huddled up in the same corner outside his family’s home. That corner was all he had ever known, and that pain showed on his face.

“Just trying to be close to his family, close to his home,” Sylvester said in a video for The Dodo. “Spencer just wanted to be invisible. It was like he’d already given up.”

Sylvester couldn’t understand why Spencer’s family was treating him this way, and clearly Spencer didn’t understand either. The poor pup was suffering from mange and had cuts from where he had scratched himself. He was in bad shape, and his rescuers were worried he wouldn’t last much longer living like that.

“When we first got to Spencer’s house and actually saw where he lived, we said, ‘Guys, do you love this dog? Do you actually want this dog?’” Sylvester said.

The family agreed to turn over Spencer to the rescue, and from that moment on, his life changed forever.

“Everyone agreed this dog deserved a better life, and then all we had to do was make sure he got it,” Sylvester said.

Spencer started on his healing journey, and his new friends made sure he got all the care and love he needed to get healthy again. Eventually he was adopted into the most perfect family — and a year after being rescued, he barely looks like the same dog.

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“Spencer’s just landed into the most perfect home for himself,” Sylvester said. “He is adored by his mum. He thinks he’s a lap dog. She sits down, he’s on top of her instantly. No concept of size.”

Spencer truly hit the jackpot with his new family. His days of sleeping outside in a corner are far behind him. He couldn’t be happier if he tried, and it’s all thanks to the rescuers who came to save him.