All dogs should have a cozy home with food, entertainment, and lots of affection. But occasionally it takes one or more heroes to make it happen.

Nobody knew what the odd bumps on a lovely lab and hound mix’s ears and around her eyes meant when they were noticed on the streets of Johannesburg, South Africa.

Fortunately, other animal lovers from a group called CLAW intervened on their own and took the cat to an animal hospital. And the vets made a startling discovery.

It turns out that the dog, named Belle, was infested with blood-sucking ticks. They were especially bad around her ears and eyes. And the vet couldn’t remove them all at once or Belle would’ve lost a lot of blood.

The CLAW team understood what they had to do when they realized it would take Belle some time to heal. They took Belle under their protection and saw to it that she received the care and food she required.

Then just days later, something incredible happened…

Belle’s ticks disappeared and the CLAW team was able to wash her.

Day by day, Belle became more alert and her beautiful black coat returned.

A few weeks later, Belle was adopted, and now she is receiving the love and attention she deserves.

Belle finally finding a loving home makes me so happy!

I shed a small tear of happiness as I imagined Belle’s improved state of mind now that she is free to play and run around without concern for her next meal.

Please share this article with your friends on Facebook to thank CLAW and all of the other animal heroes out there!