Anjo arrived in December of 2022 after being rescued from a drainage ditch. Employees of a local business heard a dog crying when they arrived for work and discovered her trapped in a pipe. They pulled her out and took her to the fire and rescue station next door. She was dried off and kept warm and taken to the animal shelter when it opened that morning. Anjo was then transferred to our care.

It appeared Anjo recently had puppies and was neglected for some time. She was flea infested, had internal parasites, and suffered from a skin infection that caused her to scratch incessantly.


With a fresh food diet and a loving environment Anjo began to heal. Dailey massage with lavender and coconut oil gave her relief from the unbearable itching. The first week she slept most of the time. It was a deep, healing sleep she so desperately needed. Anjo made amazing progress initially and her medical issues appeared to be diminishing. Then she began sleeping most of the day again and showed signs of not feeling well. After blood tests indicated possible Addison’s Disease she was scheduled for an ACTH test.


Thankfully the Addison’s Disease test was negative. With the help of the veterinarians on our Holistic Healing Advisory Committee we developed a plan that included supplements, herbal tinctures, medicinal mushrooms, and Chinese herbs in addition to her fresh, raw food diet. She is responding very well and is making wonderful progress. It will take some time for her to fully recover from so much neglect. But she is on the path to wellness and is becoming more vibrant each day.

Anjo is Angel in Portuguese and is pronounced “onjew.” She truly is an angel.

Her life is now filled with love, playing with the other dogs of Serenity Farm Virginia, and “shopping” at our farm store.

