Did he wander off from a good home? Was he dumped there in the desert alone or on purpose? Can’t say for sure.

What is certain is that Hank is one lucky dog.

Starved, dehydrated and damn near dead, Hank wandered into the lives of Don and Vicki on May 8, 2018, while they were with friends on a camping trip just west of Hanksville, Utah. They had stopped to eat when the poor thing walked up to them.

“Lucky dog!” Don thought as he shared his food with him.

At camp, Vicki gave Hank a bath.

“We didn’t have any shampoo, but I had seen on TV where they bathed birds rescued from oil slicks in Dawn dishwashing detergent,” Vicki said.

It did the trick.

Fed, bathed and now feeling safe, Hank fell fast asleep in their camper.

While not much of a looker, Hank had a kind spirit. Don and Vicki noticed that despite his ordeals, Hank was gentle with the kids in camp and good with the other dogs. But as the camping trip was coming to an end, they wondered what to do with Hank.

Luckily, another family in camp noticed the same thing and decided to take Hank home.

But they got busy—too busy to give Hank the attention he needed and too tired to handle the energetic puppy he became once nursed back to health.

Off to the shelter?

It crossed the family’s mind, but when Don and Vicki heard about their dilemma, they stepped up and now he has a forever home.

Hank is one lucky—and loved—dog