MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – An abandoned dog found in South Florida earlier this year is heading home with new owners in Wellington.
Veterinarians at Alton Road Animal Hospital said the dog, Joey, was abandoned in January on a street corner in Miami's Spring Garden neighborhood.
Joey was found in abandoned in a cage and was shivering and scared, neighbors said. But he was all wagging tail Friday as he got ready to leave with his new owners.
"What it shows is that you can't break 'em," Julian Rovito, who helped rescue Joey, said. "This dog could have ended up in a very bad situation."
Rovito and his neighbors found the dog on a cold morning in January and named him Joey. They said he was scared and was wary of being around people.
The neighbors gave him food, water and a makeshift home, and eventually took him to Alton Road Animal Hospital with the help of a rescue group.
"There's so many dogs out there, so many animals out there, and I really think that strength lies in our community," Cynthia Ortiz, who adopted Joey, said.
Cynthia and Victor Ortiz just so happened to be looking to adopt a dog when a picture of Joey popped up on their Facebook page.
"To me, it's an honor to do this," Victor Ortiz said.
"We don't know his story. We don't know if he's ever been in a home," Cynthia Ortiz said. "We have three kids, six grandkids, three horses, one parrot, and now we have a dog."
The people who found Joey set up a GoFundMe page, asking for $500 for the dog's veterinary bills. But the neighbors said they raised $3,500, and all the money that wasn't needed for Joey's vet costs will be donated to the Animal Recovery Mission.