Maru’s story begins fourteen years earlier when he was just a little pup. At only a few months of age, his owner bought him at a very high price and kept him in the family for four years. Then, a heartbreak came!

As another owner was entrusted with Maru, he decided to keep him leashed outside. Never in his wildest dreams could this sweet boi imagine that he would spend most of his life imprisoned.

He was kept on a short leash in a small structure that served as a dog house. It was so close to the cliff that his life was in danger on a daily basis.

“Over the years, we‘ve encountered several abandoned dogs, but this location was one of the worst. The small structure, which seemed like a house to the dog, was on the verge of a cliff,” the rescue team wrote on Instagram.

Poor Maru spent years huddled under a small sheet of metal, which basically was a roof. Under there, he was hiding from heavy rains and the cold weather. And, sadly, he was forced to go potty there, too.

The good people of WEACT rushed into a rescue mission as soon as they heard his story. What struck them the most was the fact that Maru was out there for years with absolutely no one to help him.

They felt terribly sorry that they came too late. Maru was already in his senior years, and yet he didn’t have one chance to learn the true meaning of a cozy home in the last decade.

When the rescuers approached him, fearing for the worst, the most incredible thing happened! Instead of being aggressive and unsocialized, Maru greeted them with the sweetest smile and a tail wag.

He was extremely happy to have people around as if he was trying to explain to them how lonely and sad he was all this time.

Light At The End Of The Tunnel

The team soon picked him up in a kennel and drove him to their facility.

During the ride to a new life, Maru was quite nervous, but all of his doubts vanished once he arrived at the rescue. He was served with a big bowl of doggo food that he devoured in minutes.

He was extremely hungry and emaciated, although his fur told differently. Maru had several layers of fur hanging on his body that made him look like an overweight boi.

“The tangled mess of fur that was hanging on his body looked like an armor.”  WEACT wrote.

Then came a grooming session… and another heartbreak!

When his tangled fur was finally removed after 10 years, Maru looked like a teeny-tiny boi. He was extremely underweight and needed at least fifteen pounds to look like he was supposed to.

The traces of his hard life accumulated over the years were visible all over. He had scars on his body, and he was missing a lot of his teeth. The worst part was – Maru was diagnosed with stage-2 heartworms.

Yet, despite all of that, he was so loving and affectionate – just happy to be far away from that small, inadequate structure.

Maru still has a long way to go, but his caregivers will make sure to do absolutely everything to help him. For now, their main goal is to keep this sweet soul as cozy as possible.

To make Maru’s golden years memorable is truly a privilege, and the WEACT team definitely knows how to act on it.

“WEACT will now become his family. We will ensure to provide him with happiness in a warm and safe environment,” they stated.