When Ronan the Alaskan Malamute was brought into The Humane Society for Tacoma & Pierce County, they weren’t sure if he was going to survive.

The poor pup was suffering from terrible lesions covering his body, osteoarthritis, a thyroid problem that made eating difficult, infection, and more.

After stabilizing the dog, the shelter contacted The Asher House in Estacada, Oregonfor assistance.

The Asher House rescues and rehabilitates animals that have been abused, abandoned or discarded and provides them with a safe home, all thanks to its founder, Lee Asher. Most of the animals at The Asher House call the place home, so they never have to worry about going through the adoption process or finding a new family.

Despite his extensive experience with rescue dogs, Lee was still caught off-guard when he went to meet Ronan. In a video shared on YouTube, you can see Lee meeting Ronan for the first time and he quickly says, “This dude is messed up.”

Lee recognized that Ronan may or may not recover and experience any quality of life but he was willing to give the pup a fighting chance. Thankfully, once Ronan got comfortable in his new home, he truly began to thrive!

He needed a lot of TLC, but he slowly came out of his shell and his health started to improve.

It’s truly beautiful to see the transformation the sweet pup went through from the time he was picked up at the Humane Society to the time he settled into the Asher House.

If you’d like to see more of Ronan’s story and watch his transformation journey, you can check out the video below: