A passing vehicle observed Violet the dog and many other dogs chained up with extremely thick metal chains that were not only restricting the dogs from roaming about, but were also harming them.

Violet was about 2 years old when she was discovered, and Angela Stell, the founder and director of NMDOG, believes she had been chained her entire life.

Violet and the other five dogs were discovered on a property in New Mexico, where it is unlawful to keep dogs chained when they are not under human control.

They dispatched the local county sheriff’s department to the property in an attempt to locate the owners, but it looked that the dogs had been abandoned. All of them were taken by NMDOG, including Violet, and the journey to recovery began.

“She was startled and is still a little apprehensive,” Stell added. Violet may have been mistreated as a result of her behavior, they say.

Fortunately, the pup is currently in good health and recovering from her emotional trauma, and she will be eligible for adoption once her recovery is complete!