Once neglected, Mr. Pickles finds a second chance at life and love

A dog found neglected inside a closed closet, scared, and distrustful of people, is now learning how to trust and love again.

Less than a month after being rescued during a wellness check in Chatham County, the cocker spaniel now known as Mr. Pickles is wagging his tail, giving kisses and rediscovering joy thanks to the people who stepped in to help.

On May 7, the Chatham County Sheriff’s office went to a home in northern Chatham County for a well-being check.  When they arrived, inside they found the resident deceased and three neglected dogs.

There was one dog in particular, a cocker spaniel, that deputies found in a closed closet in horrific condition. The dog was taken by the Chatham Sheriff’s Animal Resource Center to Mary Lucas, the founder of Longleaf Animal Rescue in Hillsborough.

 When Lucas first saw the cocker spaniel she told WRAL,” He was sitting in the back seat (of a minivan) and he could not see. He was temporarily blind when we first got him. And I was terrified.”

She explained, “emotionally, he was completely shut down.”

When Lucas described the first few days with Mr. Pickles, she said she and Mr. Pickles spent a lot of time sitting around quietly.  Lucas would throw treats across the room and let him come towards her and she wouldn’t touch him, but just slowly build up his trust again.

When it came time to name him, she said her snack became the inspiration for his name, “It's a funny story. I had just gotten back from Costco, and I had this giant thing of pickles in my fridge.  I was stuck on what to name him and I was eating a pickle and I was like, Mr. Pickles.”

Lucas was originally going to name him Snickers, because they found Snickers wrappers matted into his hair from when he was eating the candy bars in the closet that he was living in, eating them to survive.  But Lucas decided it was time to move on from his past life and give him a new beginning.

Today Mr. Pickles wakes up and barks happily for his food, he loves to play outside.  And his favorite things are stuffed animals.  Lucas said, “He could never have enough stuffed animals. We had a huge bag of stuffed animals donated and I dumped them all on him and he could not figure out what to do. So, he's playing with all of his stuffed animals now trying to figure out who's his favorite.”

The best thing about Mr. Pickles personality now Lucas says, “It's how happy he is. And he's just so resilient. And I just, I can't believe he trusts humans after everything he's been through. I really can't. And just his resilience is incredible.”

Mr. Pickles has endured a lot of medical treatment.   When he was first rescued he was taken to Veterinary Emergency Group (VEG) in Chapel Hill, where veterinarians and staff spent five hours of sedated grooming to remove 12 pounds of severely matted fur that had been removed from his body. Also removed was a protective cone that had remained around the dog's neck long after a previous surgical procedure.

Not long after his five-hour grooming appointment, Mr. Pickles underwent a fully sedated veterinary examination. During the procedure, veterinarians treated a severe ear infection, removed a large tumor from one ear, collected biopsies from several growths believed to be cysts, and placed 10 stitches following the tumor removal.

And recently he had to undergo more ear treatments at Bahama Road Veterinarian Hospital.

Mr. Pickles can get the veterinarian help he needs because his medical bills are covered by donations made the Lucas’s non-profit Longleaf Animal Rescue.

Lucas thinks Mr. Pickles will be available for adoption in the next few months.  She says a perfect home would be, “Someone who is patient…a home with other dogs.  He loves other dogs.  He thrives around being with other dogs, he can see that they’re safe, so he feels safer.”

She also said, “Someone with a backyard because he had that cone embedded on his neck, so he is fine with a harness, but I think he would love to be able to just walk around and be comfortable and have space to play.”

When asked what Mr. Pickles might say if he could talk, Lucas became emotional. She said despite everything he has endured, she believes his story is about love.

“He’d be real goofy, but I think that ultimately, he has a really huge story to share. Noting that he had surgery that can cost $5,000 to $6,000 on his ear and was neutered before he was rescued. So he was loved.”

Lucas said she does not believe Mr. Pickles was ever unloved and thinks he would want people to understand the circumstances that may have led to his neglect.

“I don’t think that Mr. Pickles wasn’t loved. I think that Mr. Pickles would want to share the story of his owner who faced a crisis that they probably weren’t willing to let go of their animal and it was tragic. But I think he was a loved dog and he would want to share the amount of love he has now to give, he has so much love.”

If you would like to donate to Mr. Pickles and the other animals at Long Leaf Animal Rescue go to their website www.longleafanimalrescue.org and click donate.