Poor Odin had a rough start in life. He was the product of neglectful breeders. When he was finally rescued last year, his prognosis seemed to be rather grim. The poor animal had spent most of his life chained up. The neglect had definitely taken its toll. He was in awful condition. Southern Cross Animal Rescue of Mississippi and Southern Pines Animal Shelter were responsible for the rescue.

They knew that the dog was going to need a forever home as soon as possible. The animal would also have to be taken to the vet’s office for further assistance. Sydney Schelkopf was his first foster mother. She could not believe that someone would allow a dog to fall into such a state of disrepair. He was supposed to be an adorable Alaskan malamute.

Unfortunately, the lack of care he received had made it tough to recognize him. Odin looked like a creature from a horror film. The dog had not been fed regularly in ages, was covered in sores, had broken teeth and his skin infections had given him a pungent scent. The poor little fellow had a litany of ailments and he would need a lot of help.

Odin did not know how to associate with his new mother. He had never lived in a real home before. Having this level of freedom was a whole new concept to him. He had never been able to walk around and explore like this before. Odin’s new foster mother was heartbroken while watching the dog. She had never seen an animal in this sort of predicament before.

She could not even tell if the dog had spent time inside of a home before. From the looks of it, it was a whole new experience to him. He did not want to play with any of the toys that he was provided with. It was as if being a normal pet was a totally foreign concept to him. Over the course of time, he slowly started to realize that he was in safe place.

After awhile, it became clear that Odin was beyond grateful to his foster mother. He did not want to live anywhere else and she did not want him to go. Now that his health is finally in order, he looks like a completely different dog as well. He’s still not out of the woods yet but his family is going to help him as much as they can. They have good days and bad days. What is important is that they have them together!