Roscoe is a small dog, who used to have  a family once. They have, for unknown reason,  left him in an abandoned house, tied to a crate with nothing but some straw to keep him warm and drove by once a week to throw him some food. His food and water were running  out,  but Roscoe was keeping his faith in humanity believing someone would come for him one day.

A few weeks ago it started heavy snowing Southern Illinois, and Roscoe was in a very big danger.

Luckily there were people around who noticed the chained dog, and one of them alarmed  the Effingham County Animal Control and Shelter and told Roscoe’s  story. Officer Vanessa Skavlem and Warden Michelle Shoot had to move quite fast to save the little dog’s life amidst harsh winter.

“They called us because it had just snowed , and for southern Illinois, it was a large amount of snow and super cold,” Skavlem said. “The dog was just shivering to death because he was less than 10 pounds.”

“He was just so happy to see us, he came running out,” Skavlem said.

Roscoe was wrapped up in a warm cloth and bundled into the car. Warm for the first time in long weeks, Roscoe couldn’t contain his joy: “He would just whine over and over and over out of happiness.” Added Skavlem.

Skavlem took a photo of the small pup after he was fed some biscuits, which she posted to Facebook with the caption: “This is what happiness looks like when you rescue a little dog from living on a chain in the freezing snow.”

Finally Roscoe is in a center and will spend each day in comfort and warmth. “We have a heated environment in there, and he has all his little blankies,” Skavlem said. “When he comes into the office, he’s so happy he wiggles and jumps up on you.”

Roscoe still whines with happiness, similar to the one on the day of is rescue especially when he sees his rescuers  around. “He does this adorable whine that’s almost as if he’s talking to you,” Skavlem said. “You know, it just feels like he has emotions and he’s grateful.”