09/07/2025
8.5 Years in a Garage. Let That Sink In.
Her name is Ariya. She’s 8 and a half years old, and she’s spent basically her entire life locked in a garage!!
Treated like an afterthought. The family is moving out of the country next week, and their plan was to dump her. That’s it. No plan for care, no love, just good luck, old girl.
She’s never had vet care. Never been spayed. No vaccinations. No real bed. No regular affection. She’s got a visible growth on her neck, her hips are toast, and her spine is likely involved too. This girl is in constant, unmanaged pain.. and it shows. She’s anxious, of course she is. She’s lived in a space the size of a storage unit while watching another dog in the home live inside in comfort. And still…
Still she chooses humans.
Still she walked up to me for love.. someone she didn't know.
Still she licked another dog’s face through the sliding door.
Still she plays “go find” when she can muster the strength.
This dog has every reason to shut down, and instead she’s giving life another chance.
I donated my time to assess Ariya because the humans responsible for her up to this point aren’t paying for anything.. not care, not safety, not her future. But I needed her to know that someone sees her, that not all humans will fail her, and that maybe.. just maybe.. life can still feel soft and safe.
But I can’t do it alone.
Thanks to a kind neighbor, Liz, and One Dog at a Time Rescue, Ariya now has a lifeline.. but that lifeline needs real resources. She needs:
Pain management meds
Anti-anxiety support
Bloodwork
Full exam
Vaccinations
A soft place to land
And maybe for the first time ever… peace.
We can't undo 8.5 years of neglect, but we can damn sure try to give her some dignity, love, and relief in whatever time she has left.
If you're in a position to help, please send donations directly to Cody at One Dog at a Time Rescue. Even small donations make a difference for dogs like Ariya.. the ones who are forgotten until it’s too late.
Let’s show her that she was always worth more than a concrete floor and four walls.
https://odaatcolorado.com/donate
📷 credit to Sue!