Last winter, Steve was found tied to a lamppost at a bus stop in Canterbury, England. It was the middle of the night, it was freezing cold, and poor Steve was clearly in a lot of pain from what was later determined to be a broken leg. A passerby called Dogs Trust, who brought the poor pup to the vet and then contacted the RSPCA to see if they could take him in.

“Poor Steve was cowering and terrified when he arrived,” Áine Maguire, a senior vet at the RSPCA Finsbury Park Animal Hospital, said in a press release. “He didn’t want to be handled and definitely didn’t want any needles near him.”

Luckily, after emergency surgery, the vet staff was able to fix Steve’s badly broken leg. After recovering at the animal hospital for a month, he was moved to the RSPCA’s Leybourne Animal Centre, where he began a recovery of a different kind.

“Steve would retreat to the back of his kennel, growling, whenever someone came near,” Jacque Kaye, a behavior and welfare advisor at Leybourne Animal Centre, said in a press release. “We knew he had deep emotional scars and we’d need to work with him for some time in order to get him ready for adoption. It’s always difficult when a dog’s been abandoned because there’s no history. We had no idea what Steve’s life had been like or how his leg had been broken. He was very wary of people and we didn’t know if he’d always been anxious, or whether it was because of what had happened.”

Everyone at the shelter was very patient with Steve and made sure to give him all of the love, care and attention he’d likely never received before. They slowly gained his trust and got to watch Steve come out of his shell a little more every day — until the scared pup had transformed into the happiest, goofiest dog at the shelter.

After months and months, Steve was finally ready to find his forever home. The smiley, silly dog had tons of interest, and the shelter chose the family they thought would be the best fit for Steve. When it was time to say goodbye, they were so happy for Steve, but also so sad that they wouldn’t get to see his adorable face every day anymore.

“We were all very attached to him and sad to say goodbye,” Kaye said. “But we knew how much he’d grown in confidence and we were thrilled he’d gone to the perfect home.”

Steve is now all settled into his forever home and absolutely loving life. His new parents are aware of everything Steve’s been through and are able to go slow with him whenever he needs it — and are also happy to meet his goofy energy levels too.

After a tough start to life, Steve has finally found his happy ending, and everyone who’s known Steve throughout his journey couldn’t be more thrilled about it.

“He loves cuddles and toys,” Suzi, Steve’s mom, said in a press release. “It’s like the puppyhood he missed out on is coming out. We’re grateful to everyone at the RSPCA who’s been involved in turning Steve’s life around. It’s really rewarding to adopt a dog who needs this kind of care. We couldn’t be happier — and there will be plenty of new toys under the tree for him this Christmas.”