Amazon box hid abandoned months-old dog on porch. Now GI Joe is proving he’s a fighter
When a woman discovered an opened Amazon box that included a dog on her front porch, she feared the worst.
But when she called her daughter, the director of the Speranza Animal Rescue in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, they quickly realized there was still hope for the puppy.
“Turns out this boy wasn’t dead, he was just unconscious (and barely breathing),” Janine Guido, the founder of the rescue, said in a Monday, Jan. 22, post on Facebook.
Taped to the Amazon box was a message from the dog’s previous owner. The note said the dog, referred to as a “Border Collie mix/heeler/Australian Shepard,” was born in February 2023 and adopted the following month.
“I am also deaf,” the note said. “I’m a very good dog, but my last owner only had me for a month and wasn’t told I was sick.”
Nicknamed GI Joe, the dog was dehydrated and covered in feces and urine when it was discovered, Guido said.
The animal rescue director took GI Joe to an emergency room, where he began a treatment that included IV fluids. Not only was GI Joe deaf, but he was also blind.
By Tuesday, a day after he was found unconscious, the dog was proving just how much of a fighter he is.
“The doctor said he’s doing ‘great,’” the animal rescue said. “I actually interrupted him because I thought he was talking about a different dog. NOPE. OUR boy is doing GREAT!!
GI Joe was eating by Tuesday, and on Wednesday he began walking.
“He’s able to walk ON HIS OWN. He’s still wobbly but he’s walking!!” the non-profit rescue said.
The vet said GI Joe could be released from their care Wednesday, according to Guido.
And there’s even more good news — the rescue received a “really, really good” foster application for GI Joe, who may soon have a new temporary home.
“Two days ago this dog was unconscious and fighting for his life,” Guido said. “And in a couple of hours I will see him alert, kind of walking. Oh my gosh, I’m so excited.”
Mechanicsburg is about 10 miles southwest of Harrisburg.
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