It’s been said that it takes a village to raise a dog, but in the case of Annie McHound, it took a village to save one.

A family discovered Annie McHound hiding in a backyard corner when she was just a little under 3 years old. It was a hot summer day. Although they didn’t know how long she had been there, they could tell from how frail she was that they were running out of time.

In order to get assistance, they put the puppy in a big Tupperware container and called Stray Rescue of St. Louis right away.

Donna Lochmann, a chief lifesaving officer at Stray Rescue of St. Louis, mentioned that she was in extremely horrible health when she got there. She would not have survived for very long.

Fortunately, the family quickly requested assistance. Annie McHound was thin and covered in more fleas, according to Lochmann, than the skilled rescuer had seen in a long time.

Lochmann called the shelter’s medical staff to alert them to Annie’s condition while she was being carefully carried into her car. At that point, Annie’s devoted village of life-saving volunteers began to take shape.

When Annie arrived, the team’s first move was to give the area a thorough cleaning.

The group understood right away that Annie couldn’t stand up by herself after her wash. In order to make her as comfortable as possible in one of the kennels, they wrapped her in a lovely blanket.

The team attempted giving her fluids, but since she wasn’t improving, they opted to take her to an emergency facility so that she could have a blood transfusion.

Within those first few hours of meeting her, Annie’s tribe had already fallen in love with her and couldn’t wait for her to return. They were eager to keep helping their new friend recover.

The poor puppy, whose lungs had been severely harmed by anemia, had to spend the most of her time in an oxygen chamber when Annie got back.

But she had a supportive tribe of shelter employees by her side the entire time. The crew would take her outside and sit with her in the sun when she wasn’t in her oxygen chamber.

According to Lochmann, they wanted her to experience some fresh air. And she genuinely enjoyed her time with us outside.

Annie started to gradually gain strength. She was transferred out of the clinic and into a section of the shelter where she could be with other animals when her lungs were eventually strong enough to breathe without the assistance of an oxygen chamber.

That is when she finally began behaving like a dog, according to Lochmann. She began forming relationships with other canines and adored playing with them.

Here you may see Annie and her friends running around:

Soon after being transferred out of the facility, Annie entered foster care. And while she hasn’t yet been adopted, Lochmann is delighted to report that she’s doing well.

Even though Annie’s journey to rescue isn’t quite complete, everyone at Stray Rescue of St. Louis is proud of how far she’s come despite all the challenges.

She ended up being a really wonderful dog, so we’re really grateful the family noticed her [in their yard], Lochmann added.