Barilla, the dog found in the bones, about to die of starvation, is one of those cases that leaves no one indifferent.

There are hundreds of animals in a state of abandonment in the streets that lose their lives because they have nothing to eat. But this little dog had better luck.

Barilla’s story reflects how far human evil can go, which seems to have no limit; and on the other hand, her capacity to resist so much suffering.

This completely helpless being on the verge of death and in the worst conditions, fought until the end, and her noble spirit remained untouchable.

She was rescued from the street after the police in Granada, Spain, received a call from a neighbor in a nearby town reporting having seen a puppy in terrible condition.

An animal association in Granada immediately took charge of the dog’s rescue.

Fortunately, there are generous souls who exhaust all available resources to rescue, rehabilitate and give a home to the most unprotected and despised.

It is not an easy job, although they are used to seeing everything, there are cases that leave an indelible mark, surprising even the most experienced professionals.

For Eduardo Rodriguez, his rescuer and hero, founder of the Dog House Animal Shelter, which also has a rescue association called “Another Chance”, he has rarely been so affected by a case like this one.

He was a sack of fur with bones sticking out weighing just 7.5 kilos.

“I have rescued dogs since I was a child and I am used to seeing great misery, but I had never seen a dog in such a bad state as Barilla was,” says Eduardo. “She was left abandoned with the clear intention of letting her starve to death.”

It is to be expected that a stray dog survives on whatever it can get. Most likely she was kept locked up somewhere deprived of food and water since birth.

“She had marks on her paws, we think she had been crawling because she couldn’t walk properly due to her weakness and lack of muscle mass until she finally collapsed.”

“She was so hungry and thirsty when we found her. She was not able to stand up or support her own body, she could not hold up her head or tail, her health was so deteriorated that she no longer had the strength to move, she lacked muscle mass,” he said.

The team that attended her was worried, every second was life or death. They knew she could suffer organ failure at any moment, they did not give her much time, nor did they believe she could overcome it.

But, they had seen a tiny glimmer of hope in her eyes, they would do their best not to let her die.

Edward rested his gaze on this being as she fought for her life, he knew he could not give up on her.

“Her will to live was incredible and I felt a connection from the moment I saw her,” he said.

They named her Barilla because of her extreme thinness, resembling a spaghetti from the famous Italian brand. They estimated her to be about 10 months old.

They thought she was a Belgian shepherd cross. In his condition, he could not receive any type of food, so it was necessary to connect probes and wait for his system to respond and begin to stabilize.

After six hours, he tried with all his might to get up to drink some water on his own. It was encouraging.

The vet said they were lucky to find her at that time, as she might not survive another night in her condition.

After a few days, Barilla was over the risk of organ failure and starvation, she was regaining her strength. She still had a long way to go, but she never gave up.

Her will to live was impressive.

A week later, receiving the nutrients she so desperately needed, she had already regained almost 4 kilos; however, it was not enough, she was struggling to stay on all four legs.

So they decided to maintain the feeding regimen they had been on so far. Barilla was soon able to eat five to six meals a day and was fitted with a harness to help her walk and gain muscle mass.

In time, Barilla reached a healthy weight, thanks to the loving care and treatment of her rescuer and the animal center staff.

Seven more weeks passed for Barilla to shine with her beauty and healthier than ever, she reached the ideal weight for her breed: almost 21 kilos.

Her life is a true miracle

With a whole life ahead of her, Eduardo, who was always looking after her health since he rescued her, decided to adopt her.

“The first time I saw her I told my colleagues that one day I would be able to hug her and we would be together and she would recover. And so it has been,” says Eduardo.

Barilla’s medical case was almost a miracle, veterinarians said that most dogs would have died if they had reached such a bad state. Spaghetti’s miraculous recovery was thanks to Eduardo and his wonderful rescue team.

In the following video you can appreciate the good condition Barilla is now in:

Eduardo and Barilla have become inseparable friends, he says she is a very intelligent and obedient little dog.

Today, Barilla lives with Eduardo along with his wife Carolina, their 14 year old daughter and five other dogs, enjoying a life surrounded by attention and the love that all dogs deserve.

Although a police investigation was opened on the case to find the person responsible, at least the story has a happy ending.

Barilla was very lucky and was able to move on, but it is not fair that animals have to go through this, there are hundreds suffering and they do not have the same ending.

We wish for a world without animal abandonment and mistreatment, together we can join efforts to achieve it.