Abandoned Dog Gets Second Chance With Broken Arrow Family

Lacie Lowry, News On 6

TULSA, Oklahoma -- A Broken Arrow couple is trying to find the owner of an abandoned dog that was found on the brink of death.

They were looking at a truck for sale in Tulsa when the basset hound came limping down the street. Her recovery is pretty amazing.

Meet Hope the basset hound. Hope wasn't her given name, but her new caretakers named her that for the extraordinary journey she's had.

"She's very much become a part of our family," said Hope's owner Lindsey Patterson.

Hope looked emaciated almost four weeks ago, suffering from hook worm, swollen intestines after eating trash, severe dehydration and starvation.

Lindsey Patterson and her family are now taking care of Hope, after her husband found her.

"He brought her home and I honestly started crying because I didn't think she was going to make it through the night," Patterson said.

She's had quite a turnaround since then. "Her favorite thing to do right now, is to eat! Hahaha!"

All that eating has helped Hope gain seven pounds and she's not sick anymore.

"I feel really great, because if she would have stayed out there any longer, she probably wouldn't have survived," said Nova Patterson, Lindsey's daughter.

A basset hound rescue group heard about Hope's story and posted pictures on its website to get donations for her vet bills.

4 The Hounds paid for $1,000 in Hope's medical care, and then the donations ran out. The Pattersons are going to take over the financial responsibility, but still wonder what type of person would abandon a pet.

"I would probably be a stronger individual to go and say 'this dog would probably be better off euthanized than running around on the street. So I would say a very desperate individual," Patterson said.

As for Hope's future, Patterson planned on fostering her, but now that's changed. "It's about time she have a permanent family,"

After speaking with neighbors, Patterson believes Hope's original owner moved away and left Hope behind.

Hope was on the street for three weeks before the Patterson's found her.