Disclaimer: This story tells of a terminally ill animal who experienced love and comfort in his final days.
He was abandoned. Exhausted. Desperate. Wenwen’s journey was slowing, his fragile body no longer able to carry him through the days as it once had. When rescuers first saw him, they could barely recognize him as the proud dog he had once been. He was only a shadow of himself, left behind when he needed his family most. His thin body trembled with cold. And yet, even in despair, he lay there waiting, hoping the person who had forsaken him might return.
It was the kindness of local neighbors that kept him alive those first days. They gave him scraps of food, covered him with blankets, and finally called the rescue team. By the time help arrived, Wenwen was weak and frail. He curled quietly under the warmth of a blanket, his body brittle, worn down by time and suffering. His legs were thin, painful, and unsteady. Every moment mattered.
The vet who accompanied the team acted quickly. Wenwen’s condition was already critical. They set up an IV to stabilize him, delivering fluids and pain relief to ease his suffering. As they worked, a bystander muttered, “Why put so much effort into a homeless dog? He doesn’t even belong to you.”
There will always be voices that don’t understand. The rescuers didn’t waste time arguing. Their focus was only on Wenwen. They rushed him to the hospital for tests.
An X-ray revealed the devastating truth. Wenwen was suffering from a severe degenerative disease that had weakened his bones. At sixteen years old, his body could no longer support him. Standing was difficult, walking nearly impossible. Time had stolen the strength he once had, and with it, the life he deserved.
Yet the rescuers refused to let him fade away forgotten. They carried him into a quiet room with a soft air mattress, the same one that had once comforted another rescue dog, Baili. They hoped that some of that luck might find Wenwen too. A nurse knelt beside him, whispering softly, “Rest now, sweet boy. You’re not alone anymore.”
For the first time in so long, Wenwen felt warmth. His weary eyes blinked slowly, savoring the comfort. Over the next few days, his appetite returned slightly, a sign that deep inside, he was still fighting. One morning, he even shuffled out of his room, sitting in the hospital hallway and staring outside as though remembering a home he once knew. It broke the rescuers’ hearts. He had given his entire life to his owner, trusting them as his only companion. And yet, in his final years, he had been discarded.
Though abandoned, Wenwen still deserved dignity and love. The medical team promised he would have both. They fed him gently, brushed his frail fur, and sat with him for hours. Every step he took was shaky, but never alone—someone always walked beside him, ready to catch him if he stumbled. They would not let him fall.
He celebrated his first New Year’s in the hospital with his new family. He was brushed, kissed, and reminded that he mattered. For 45 days, he lived surrounded by affection. But gradually, his strength waned. His appetite weakened. He grew more attached to the nurse who had become his closest companion. His tired eyes carried unspoken emotions, and one day tears welled up in them as though he was trying to say goodbye.
Knowing his time was short, the rescuers wanted to give him something special. They carried him carefully to a photography studio. There, in front of the camera, they captured every precious moment. Each photo was more than an image—it was proof of his journey, from abandonment to love. Proof that in his final chapter, Wenwen was not forgotten.
He fought bravely. In fifty days, Wenwen had gone from cold and lonely to warm and cherished. He had welcomed a New Year, smiled again, and felt the world’s kindness. Though his disease was relentless, he endured as long as he could. In the end, he found peace.
He had been rescued three times in fifty days. And though illness slowly drained his body, his heart remained full of love. When the end came, he was not alone. He rested gently, wrapped in the arms of those who loved him.
“Rest well, old friend,” one rescuer whispered, carrying him home. “If fate allows, come back to me again. I swear, I’ll never let you go.”
Not everyone deserves a dog. But every dog deserves loyalty and love. Wenwen’s story is a reminder of that truth, and a call never to abandon the ones who have given us their hearts.
Share Wenwen’s journey, so that others may understand the importance of animal welfare—and so that no more lives will be wasted in loneliness.
