The Face of Rescue: Meet Ozzy

April is Ozzy’s birthday month… at least, that’s what we believe. And honestly, that feels perfectly fitting for a dog who rewrote his own beginning.

Ozzy’s story didn’t start with celebration.
It started in a box.

He and his littermates were found abandoned in South Carolina, left in a box and eventually placed in a barn. stall By the time help found him, Ozzy was barely hanging on—feral, terrified, covered in parasites and worms, suffering from mange… and somehow, even a broken tail. No one knows how that happened. No one knows everything he went through.

But you could see it in his eyes.

When he was brought north to Rhode Island with a rescue group, I saw his photo on Facebook—and it stopped me cold.
This wasn’t how a puppy should look.
He didn’t look playful, curious, or full of life.

He looked… defeated.
Sad.
Like hope had already passed him by.

I wasn’t ready to adopt. We had just lost two of our dogs, and my heart was still grieving. So I told myself I would foster him.

But the moment Ozzy arrived, I knew this wasn’t going to be temporary.

He was scared. Sick. His tiny body carried the smell of the chemical baths meant to heal him. His tail—still broken—was a quiet reminder of everything he had endured. And yet, underneath all of that… he was still there. Still trying.

Still choosing to trust, just a little.

Of course, I fell in love with him. Everyone knew I would.

Then came the call I had been expecting—but wasn’t ready for.
The rescue had found a potential forever home.

I did the right thing. I handed him back so he could meet his new family. And when I came home, the house felt empty in a way I wasn’t prepared for. I was a complete mess—heartbroken over a dog I was never supposed to keep.

Then, just a few hours later, my phone rang.

“Can we bring him back?”

What?!
Absolutely. Yes. Right now.

And just like that, everything changed.

The moment Ozzy came back through that door, he wasn’t a foster anymore.
He was home.
He was ours.
We were his forever.

This April, Ozzy turns 8.

Eight years of resilience.
Eight years of healing.
Eight years of proving that the worst beginnings don’t get the final say.