Rescuer calls for help to save dog named ‘Dude’

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) - An abandoned dog left for dead in a Cordova backyard now has a second chance at life, but the man who rescued him said the pup wound up saving him.

Dan Moore saw a heartbreaking post on Nextdoor about a bulldog left behind when his owners moved away. He knew immediately he had to help.

“I couldn’t not do something. I had to,” he told Action News 5. “I can’t believe people would do that.”

The sight of the flea and sore-covered bulldog abandoned, left for dead behind an empty home, with no food or water, broke Moore’s heart.

“He was in that backyard full-time, never in that house,” said Moore. “Never even had a name and was just bred back-to-back-to-back, and then they left him. I don’t get it.” 

With a cool head, calm demeanor, and pork jerky, Moore coaxed the sickly pup he calls “Dude” into his truck. Their first stop: the veterinarian’s office.

“He didn’t get any vaccinations,” said Moore. “The vet said the shots would probably kill him for sure. And he was so weak, oh God. It was bad. Flies were all over him. His ears were all scabbed up. He looked bad.” 

Moore said the vet told him Dude was 15 pounds underweight and had heartworms, hookworms, and whipworms. Antibiotics are treating his open wounds.

His once-dark fur is now white again. Moore said the bath water ran black because Dude was so filthy.

“He was soaked. He stunk to high heaven. I’ve lived near a pig farm, and he stunk worse than that. He was horrible,” he said.

Moore recently moved back to Memphis from Wisconsin.  He’s in the middle of a divorce and getting back on his feet. Friends suggested he set up a GoFundMe to help with The Dude’s $2,500 vet bill.

“We didn’t start the heartworm treatment yet,” said Moore, “because the vet said that would surely kill him. So, he goes back to the vet in one month for his shots, microchip, and heartworm treatment.”

Moore said Dude is well-mannered and easily takes to the leash. The pitiful dog he rescued, said Moore, is now rescuing him in this next season of his life.

”The first time he walked up and put that big ‘ole head in my lap and looked up and said thank you,” said Moore, “it was all over. He’s laid back, he’s mellow. He’s friendly. He gives me something to do and something to care about. Dude’s not going anywhere. Dude’s here forever. This is his forever home.”

If you’d like to contribute to The Dude’s Go FundMe, click here.

Or, you can drop off a donation directly to the Cordova Station Animal Hospital at 989 North Germantown Parkway in Cordova.

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