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My husband Greg and I visit the Dominican Republic as much as possible. Over the years, we have adopted five street and beach dogs to come back to Canada with us.

One August, we visited DR for a quick summer vacation. While relaxing on the beach on this trip, we saw the resident 'puppy mill' guy who targets tourists to bring home animals. Our friend Joery was bartering for a little black and white puppy, and they agreed on the price of 1000rd (approximately $32USD). We paid for the puppy and said that we would take him home.

We named the puppy Joey in honour of Joery, who did the bartering. Little Joey weighed barely a pound and the dog guy said that he was eight weeks old.

We took Joey to the local vet and confirmed his age. Joey was so weak that he could barely walk, and he was full of worms, ticks and fleas. The vet said he would be surprised if the puppy lived considering what shape he was in.

We treated Joey for the parasites and fed him homemade formula for a week or so. It was so apparent that he was taken from his mother too early.

Joey had to stay in the DR for an extra week, as we couldn't book him on our flight. A friend was flying to Calgary, and Joey flew in the cabin in a pet bag about the size of a Kleenex box.

Little Joey now weighs over 20 pounds and is a feisty adorable 'Dominican Poodle'. We have five other dogs now including Ruby, another Dominican rescue. Our Canadian dogs seem to tolerate the winter, but Ruby and Joey love to hang out in the snow and cold. Our Dominican dogs seem to know that they were saved and show their appreciation every day!

Story submitted by Natalie DeSantis from Rockyford, Canada.

This story was originally shared on The Animal Rescue Site. Share your very own rescue story here!