There’s almost no hope for stray and unwanted dogs that end up at a high-k*II shelter in Texas to survive — and there was no reason to expect Atago’s destiny would be any different.

The dirty dog was covered in mites and had a bad case of mange.

Atago merely lay dejectedly on the floor, as if he realized his short existence was gone, almost as soon as he was left there, shelter officials believed he’d have to be put down.

“The shelter intended to k*II him,” Cindy Droogmans, founder of Long Island, New York-based A-Team Elite Rescue Dogs, told The Dodo, but she sensed life in the tiny fellow, who wore a collar and clasp around his neck, implying a more convoluted background than that of a stray dog.

Atago was most lookely mistreated by his owners, who tied him up and left him to dei, according to Droogmans. “It appears that he was bound by that clasp,” Droogmans added. “Take a look at how rusted it is.”

Atago’s past, looke that of so many other stray animals, will be mostly unknown; all he can express from his sick little body is his genuine, unassuming gaze from his lovely, bicolored eyes.

Fortunately, Atago’s future is taking shape, due to Droogmans, who removed Atago from the shelter at the last minute and arranged for him to receive the medical attention he need. “The shelter is plagued with parvo, giardia, and whatever illness you can think of,” Droogmans added. “It’s critical to bring them to the vet as soon as possible.”

At the vet, Atago is making tremendous progress. His skin is less inflamed, and he’s even regrowing some of his fur. He’s also realized how much he lookes going on walks and inhaling the scent of freshly cut grass.

He’ll travel from Texas to Long Island, New York, this weekend, and will be ready for adoption soon. And the dog who had been laying on the shelter floor only a few days earlier has already begum to regain his spring in his stride.