Being an animal owner comes with a bunch of duties and responsibilities – after all, it should be regarded as a promise to take care of your pet as best as you can. Unfortunately, not every animal owner out there wants to make that promise, and there are way too many animals who are tragically abandoned and left behind like trash.

This particular story of a deformed chihuahua is tear-jerking, as this poor four-footer was simply ditched because of special needs.

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According to PETA, more than six million pets are surrendered to shelters or simply “go missing” every single year in the States alone.

“Every year in the U.S., more than 6 million lost, abandoned, or unwanted dogs and cats enter animal shelters,” the animal organization writes on their website.

The numbers are absolutely heartbreaking, and the real count is probably a lot higher than these official numbers. Take into account that there’s plenty of animal abuse and neglect outside of the United States as well, and it’s clear that there are a whole bunch of four-footers in desperate need of a warm and loving home.

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Luckily, there are always people who will give their everything to help out animals in need. Angela Adan is one of those warmhearted people.

The woman from Tehachapi, California has been looking after animals for years, and is absolutely passionate about saving them. The animal advocate actually rescues animals for her job and seeing strays enter shelters on a regular basis definitely breaks her heart. Over the years, she’s gotten used to these terrible sights and she can usually control her emotions – but this one chihuahua absolutely brought her to tears.

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It only took a few minutes to bond and connect with this very special and brave chihuahua, who was neglected by her previous owner and was left behind to perish.

She actually received a tip from someone about this four-footer in need. Immediately afterward, she got in her car to rescue the poor pooch. The trip lasted over four hours and it actually took a while before she found the chihuahua in need. Angela also had no idea in what kind of shape she would be in, and she was surprised when she finally saw the dog, to say the least.

The poor four-footer was in bad shape, malnourished, shivering, and suffered from multiple major deformities.

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After a quick glance, it was clear that the four-footer was in urgent need of medical attention. Her poor eyes were almost completely protruded from its head, and the pooch also couldn’t close or open his mouth properly because she had too many teeth. Walking was practically impossible, as the front feet were jutting from both sides of the ribcage.

When the four-footer approached Angela and gave her a few licks, she immediately burst into tears. This four-footer was just so incredibly thankful and happy to see a kind and friendly face, and that realization warmed the woman’s heart.

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She knew that there was just no way that this four-footer would survive in a shelter, so she took matters into her own hands.

Angela realized that it would have a very hard time getting adopted, which would eventually lead to euthanization. She wasn’t about to let that happen – so she adopted the four-footer.

She decided to name her “Freddie Mercury”, a humorous reference to her teeth.

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“People often ask me how do I do it?” Angela said. “How can you foster a special needs dog knowing she could pass away at any day? The answer is simple, dogs teach me to just have fun and to be in the moment. I do my best to just enjoy this time right here, right now, and not worry about what happened yesterday or what will happen tomorrow. Life is short, take breaks when you need it and just enjoy the moment you have right this second,” Angela said.

Be sure to check out this pup’s special story in the video below!

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Source: Inspire More, The Dodo