Courage Is Spelled A-S-T-R-O

An amazing story with a sad start still has one chapter to be written.

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By Eric Snitil

Story Created: Jul 29, 2011 at 10:29 AM AKDT

Story Updated: Aug 27, 2012 at 9:50 AM AKDT

ANCHORAGE—Having covered a pet every week for some time now, I get to see a lot of dogs from all walks of life.

But when Brooke Taylor of Anchorage Animal Care and Control sent me photos of today's pet of the week, I knew I'd be meeting someone special.

“This is Astro, and he's very special to us here at the center,” Taylor said. “He was abandoned, and when he came to our attention, he was 24 pounds, which on him, he was almost skeletal. Within a couple weeks of just giving him some care and feeding, we were up to twice his weight, and now he's up to 62 pounds, which is probably pretty stable for him.”

Abandoned and abused, Astro was in a pretty bad way when he was discovered.

“He was in a lot of danger,” Taylor said. “Any dog that's showing that much bone protrusion, it's kind of a scary thing. He was strong enough that he was still standing and he was able to greet the officers that went in to get him.”

Therein lies the irony with Astro.

Despite having every reason to not be a kind and loving dog, he'll surprise you.

“Through all of that, he takes his treats gently, he has really polite manners and he loves everyone he greets,” Taylor said. “So he's going to be a wonderful companion for someone.”

This four-year-old pit bull mix already knows “sit,” and despite his newly found larger size, is gentle even when in play mode.

But even with the happy ending to such a horrific beginning, there's still a chapter yet to be written in Astro's book.

We all want to see Astro end up in a really good home. After all he's been through, he certainly deserves it.

His adoption fee is $52 at Anchorage Animal Care and Control.

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