UPS driver Gavin Crowsley finds a dog in need and had to do something.

On January 21, 2013, he thought he saw a Dalmatian tied up to a very short chain in a snowy yard. It looked like it was starving so he pulled over to take a better look. The dog had no food, water, or shelter.

“I could see every bone in his body,” he told his employer, according to HuffPost. “He was just lying there. I knew if that dog didn’t die from starvation, he was going to die from the weather. I didn’t want to have a confrontation, but I couldn’t just leave him there.”

Crowsley called the Clay County Humane Society to have the dog rescued.

The dog was actually a GREAT DANE. It was so severely malnourished that Crowsley mistook it for a Dalmatian.

When he was rescued, the dog weighed only 62 pounds – nearly 100 pounds less than he was supposed to.

The dog is blind in one eye and completely deaf. He was suffering from malnutrition and pneumonia. His ears were also frostbitten from the snow. He was very lucky to have been rescued and taken for treatment.

Eventually, he was adopted by a wonderful family who set up a Facebook page for him called Phoenix Fighters.

According to HuffPost, the UPS Facebook page featured Phoenix’s story to share the good news. Seven months after Phoenix’s rescue, he had a brief reunion with the man who saved his life.

Crowsley also got to meet Phoenix’s new mom.

“We’ve waited several months to share this story with you because we wanted the first photo you see of Phoenix to be this sweet boy reunited with the UPS driver who helped save his life,” the company wrote in a Facebook post.

Phoenix has made a great recovery since his rescue. In just a year he has gained almost 100 pounds and was on his way to becoming a therapy dog.

With the help of his new mom, Pheonix was learning to sit, stay, and shake hands. By July 2013, he has made his first visit to a nursing home to cheer up the residents.

Phoenix also has helped raise money for cancer research and for other abused dogs in need of medical care.

It was quite an eventful life for the Great Dane. While he made a good recovery, he suffered a setback in 2015. He and his brother Rigs were poisoned and fell into a coma. He recovered but later needed more surgery for a growth on his foot.

The majority of his days in his forever home were spent playing and eating and surrounded by the love of his foster family. He loved being with the kids.

No one knew how old Phoenix was when he was found. In 2018, they estimated that he was around 9 years old, which was a little older than the average lifespan for a Great Dane.

On March 12, 2019, Phoenix passed away peacefully in his adopted mother’s arms.

It was heartbreaking news for everyone, especially his family. This pup rose from a scraggly, dying, and neglected dog into a playful chubby family pet. Thanks to his new family, he was able to live his final years the way all dogs should.

The Phoenix Fighters Facebook page is still active and occasionally lets followers know about other animals in need.

They posted a lovely tribute to their rescue mascot earlier this year and gave followers information on how people could continue to help rescue dogs.

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Source: HuffPost, Phoenix Fighters via Facebook