Amazing Woman Spends 2 Freezing Nights in NYC Park to Save a Senior Feral Dog

Denise Lauffer, a very dedicated New York City resident, has taken it upon herself to help out a senior feral dog named Charlie for the past ten years. Lauffer will periodically go to feed Charlie, hoping to one day gain his trust.

Charlie was born into a pack of feral dogs that used to live in Highbridge Park in northern Manhattan. All the other dogs have been rescued in the past five years, but Charlie has managed to elude any rescue efforts.

As NYC temperatures dropped into the below freezing region, Lauffer began to worry about Charlie, however, because of his fear of humans, she could not get him to accept her help.

      Life With Dogs

Determined not to let Charlie freeze, Lauffer built a makeshift shelter out in the woods and started sleeping in the park to gain his trust. We certainly have to hand it to Lauffer for this amazing act of dedication.

But it seems that Lauffer is hardly the only city resident who has noticed Charlie and his plight. In fact, this senior pup has gained quite a following from the community. A number of kind people have come forward to offer Charlie help.

“[Charlie] had coats and blankets and [he was] sleeping on pillows and hand warmers and hot water bottles,” she told DNAinfo.com. “You name it, he had it.” But to really survive the winter, he would need companionship and proper care.

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After two nights, Lauffer’s plan had worked and Charlie finally began to trust her. When she woke one morning, Lauffer noticed that Charlie had cozied up to her during the night. After this, Lauffer and neighbors were able to wrangle him into a van and took him to the vet for a check up. There, he was treated for dehydration and then got to go home with a local animal-lover, Tine Ilmet.

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Unfortunately, Charlie began acting very lethargic when at home with Ilmet. She took him to the vet, where he is still receiving medical treatment. He is no longer dehydrated, but vets are keeping an eye on him to see if there are any other health issues to address.

The good news is that Charlie now has a safe and warm place to live out the rest of his happy days. Though it has not yet been decided where Charlie will end up, he is sure to be adopted by one of the kind people who has been helping feed him the past ten years. Lauffer’s dedication and willingness to brave the cold may have saved this handsome dog’s life.

If you are interested in keeping up with Charlie or donating money to cover his medical expenses, you can visit his GoFundMe page here.

Lead image source: NYPost