According to reports, Duke was afflicted with a highly transmissible ailment, and individuals were cautioned to keep their distance from him. The puppy was tethered to a dilapidated, decrepit trailer in a Bulgarian town, left neglected for several days without any form of care.
With each passing day, Duke’s hope dwindled as he sought refuge beneath the trailer, feeling forsaken and overlooked. Fortunately, a concerned resident observed the pitiable state of the pup and reached out to Rudozem Street Dog Rescue—a recognized animal welfare organization in Bulgaria dedicated to aiding distressed animals.
Upon arriving at the location, Tony Rowles, one of the organization’s founders, was confronted with the sight of a dog swarmed by flies and surrounded by its own waste. Tony admitted to feeling genuine fear as a potent stench of ammonia overwhelmed him, momentarily rendering him motionless.
Tony and his family took in Duke, along with several other dogs and cats, as the shelter was already filled to capacity. Despite Duke’s inherently gentle nature, he displayed a certain caution around males during the initial weeks of his stay, as if harboring some infectious quality.
Tony vividly recalls his first encounter with the person in question and noticed a subtle but unmistakable air of uneasiness in the individual’s movements and behavior towards him as time passed.
