Today’s story tells a lot about two completely opposite spectrums of what humans are capable of. On one end, they’re capable of really terrible things, like abandoning a dog and leaving them to die. On another hand, some humans are capable of doing good and bringing happiness to others, like Tara, the foster care worker who took the aforementioned dog under her care and nursed her back to health.

Keeping this duality in mind, Daenerys the female pit bull is both lucky and unlucky at the same time. She’s definitely unlucky to have suffered such immense starvation. When people found her in an abandoned apartment in Phoenix, AZ, she weighed only 24 lbs, when a healthy female pitbull should weigh at least 37 or more. But still, she’s lucky to have been noticed just in time, because who knows how much time she had left otherwise.

Daenerys, or Miss D, as her current owner shortens it, is also lucky to have found a forever home and to have recovered from her emaciation almost completely. Miss D’s fortune has changed completely in just a matter of months. But let’s not get too far ahead of the story, and get to it bit by bit.

This is Daenerys. She was found in an abandoned apartment

She weighed only 24lbs even though a healthy female Pitbull should weigh at least 37lbs

Tara, a foster care worker, took her into her loving home

She immediately put her in blankets, and gave her much needed love and support

It took her 5 days to stand up on her own

She was steadily gaining 1 to 2 pounds a day

And weighed 57lbs

Late in her recovery, Daenerys finally had a swim at the local lake

She immediately like shark in the water

She was ready to get adopted

The foster owners drove Daenerys from Arizona to Colorado for a visit with her possible owner

Justine gave Bored Panda an exclusive interview: “As you can see from the post, some horrible person left her to die. Our story began when her first video on the Dodo popped up on my Facebook feed. I had been looking to adopt a dog for several months but there just wasn’t one that ‘spoke to me.’ The moment I saw her video, I knew she was the one. I put in an application. The foster mom (@tarasfostersaz) reached out to me via email, then we had a phone conversation. They wanted Miss D (they named her Daenarys) to go to a home with no other pets and preferably older children. I had neither. The foster mom then discussed my application with the rescue owner (@bbshonorallbreedrescue). I then had a phone conversation with her. They decided they would allow me to adopt her pending an onsite visit. They drove her all the way from Arizona to Colorado! They are such dedicated people that they said if I met her and didn’t want to keep her, they would turn around and take her back to Arizona. However, I was instantly in love with this dog.”

Justine has been looking to adopt, but never found something that resonates with her, until she has seen Daenerys’ story

“Miss D loves to ride in the car more than anything and I take her just about everywhere I go. She is so happy to go into Lowe’s and Home Depot and she is sure that everyone wants to pet her. She is also so happy to run free in open spaces.”

Miss D loves to ride anywhere anytime

Foster care workers recommended that she’d be the only pet and the household had no children

“While I may have adopted her, she is the one who has rescued me. You see, I just got out of a marriage to a man who was an alcoholic and very destructive. I was shattered and was struggling with life. Miss D has given me a whole new life full of joy. She is the rescued rescuer.”

Justine, having neither of the two, was a perfect candidate for Daenerys

Plushies are Daenerys’ favorite toys

And she can’t get enough of them

Miss D is now a happy pup