We have wooden floors, so she always wags her tail, which makes it sound like she is drumming. The happiest dog I have ever known, she truly is.

An injured female bulldog was discovered wandering the streets of Phoenix, Arizona, four years ago by a police officer. Given the dog’s condition, it’s amazing that she’s still alive.

The woman who eventually adopted the dog described the animal to The Dodo as “emaciated and covered in ticks.” Jeannette (who requested that her last name not be used) said. He mistook her for being brown because of how filthy she was, and because she or he was so swollen and scarred that he also believed she was blind.

The dog’s ears were missing, which was probably the most upsetting sign that she had likely been used in dog fighting, possibly as a bait dog.

She had numerous bites to her ear, according to Jeannette. Her left ear flap was completely severed, and her right ear flap was rotten, decayed, and unsalvageable.

The dog was apprehended by the police and taken to a shelter. The Mayday Bullfighting Rescue Team’s volunteers then intervened. The rescue group asked Jeannette and her husband if they could foster the dog since they were unable to take her themselves.

For some reason, we just agreed, so my husband went and got her from the shelter and took her right away to the ER vet, according to Jeannette.

Despite their best efforts, the vet team didn’t believe she would survive.

She developed a number of tick-borne illnesses, and she or he was anemic, according to Jeannette. She was described as the worst person the rescuers had ever seen. I mean, she literally smelled like death — it had been horrible.”

The dog persevered nonetheless, despite this.

Although she had every right to be angry, Jeannette continued, “You could see that she was terrified, but there was this hope in her eyes. We were outraged at the time that this could have happened to her, but she was incredibly forgiving.

The dog wanted to spend some time at the vet, but Janet and her husband decided to call her first.

When you rescue a dog, you usually want to give them a reputation, especially if they’re staying the night, so that if they pass away, they do so with a good name, according to Jeannette. “We named her Calista, which suggests ‘most beautiful.’”

Calista shocked everyone by making it through the night. Then, she survived again, and survived again.

Every day, Jeannette and her husband went to see Calista.

We wanted to establish a connection with her and reassure her that her life was stable, according to Jeannette. She received visits from members of the rescue team as well, so she was in constant contact with people.

Calista recovered with the help of numerous reconstructive surgeries and intense therapies. She was returning home with Janet and her husband a few weeks later.

They had another dog, Zazu, and at the time they had just committed to fostering Calista; nobody had anticipated that they would eventually adopt another dog.

But a few months later, when Calista was offered for adoption, Jeannette rapidly had second thoughts.

Everyone else made jokes about knowing she was staying, but Jeannette and I insisted, “No, no, she’s only a foster,” she recalled. When she became available for adoption, I immediately responded, “No, she’s not going anywhere.”

She continued, “Now I can’t picture her anyplace but with us. We probably would have preferred to emotionally accept that we could have brought her in.

He taught her how to act like a dog, which was incredibly useful, according to Jeannette. She lacked the necessary skills to play, and she or he was terrified of everything, so watching him perform actions was very beneficial to her.

Calista is undergoing treatment for mastocyte cancer and still has some health issues. But Calista is beaming with happiness.

She enjoys life, Jeannette remarked. She enjoys eating. She is a kind person. She adores other creatures. She is really a wonderful, fantastic soul. She occasionally gets fear because of her experiences, but she’s almost over it.

Jeannette said, “She’s known for her tail drumming.” Since we have wooden floors and she is constantly waggling her tail, it appears that she is drumming. She is genuinely the happiest dog I’ve ever met.