Dog rescued from 110-degree U-Haul finds his forever home

It’s unbelievable how cruel some people can be to dogs, but thankfully there are also kind people willing to give these animals the love they deserve.

That was the case recently, after a dog who was found locked up in a hot U-Haul got adopted by a new, loving family.

In June, Oklahoma City Police found 36 dogs locked inside a U-Haul truck left in a Walmart parking lot. The interior of the cargo area was over 110 degrees, and the dogs were in poor condition.

They were taken to Oklahoma City Animal Welfare. One of the dogs was pregnant and gave birth to puppies. Sadly, one dog didn’t survive.

“It was and is overwhelming for us,” Jonathan Gary of Oklahoma City Animal Welfare told KFOR. “Many of the puppies we received were in horrible shape but are doing better now, most had heat stroke. The one that died, we thought he had made it through but he had organ failure yesterday and died.”

“I don’t understand how people can treat their animals that way,” he added

In response to the incident, Dexter Manuel and Linda Manuel were arrested on 36 counts of animal cruelty. Police searched their home and found evidence of a puppy mill operation. They were booked at Oklahoma County Detention Center on June 6 and bonded out on $20,000 each.

The couple accused of leaving 36 dogs in a U-haul parked in a Walmart parking lot earlier this month has been charged…

Posted by KFOR-TV on Saturday, June 17, 2023

“Several of the cages had so many dogs inside that the dogs were unable to move freely and some were stepping on top of one another and there was no food or water inside of the U-Haul,” the arrest affidavit states.

But now, one of the dogs has gotten a happy ending.

The Oklahoma City Police announced this week that one of the rescued puppies, now named Paddington, has been adopted by a loving family.

“We’ve been searching for the perfect little love bug to honor Hamilton, Sebastian, & Sophie and immediately we knew this face was the one,” the family wrote of their new rescue pup. “He has already brought us pure joy and is mending our hearts!”

Paddy isn’t the only dog from the U-Haul getting a new start: according to the police, all the dogs have been nursed back to health and some are now going up for adoption, per KFOR.

We hope all the dogs find homes soon and will be as happy as Paddy is!

It’s heartbreaking that these dogs were locked up in a hot U-Haul, but we’re so glad Paddy has a loving new home!

Please share this inspiring news if you love dogs!

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