A couple of weeks ago, one young, innocent bully dog in a neighborhood in Fort Worth Texas experienced one of the most horrifying forms of cruelty, enough to make you keel over and break down. Tate the Great — as his current foster parent fondly calls him — was found lying in excruciating pain on a stranger’s porch. Tate had sustained severe chemical burns on his entire face and ears in an apparent act of animal cruelty. Someone had intentionally poured acid on him before setting him on fire, leaving him for dead.

Luckily, a good Samaritan found Tate just in time and contacted animal control, who responded and took him to Fort Worth Animal Care and Control Shelter.

A Miraculous Survival

While at the shelter, Tate’s agonizing ordeal caught the attention of MuttsNSuch Rescue, who stepped in and took him to the best animal hospital where he could begin his treatment. Tate required extensive treatment, and fortunately, vets were able to confirm that he’d make it.

Once this adorable survivor was out of danger, the rescue found him a loving foster home, where he continues to heal and overcome the trauma of his harrowing past.

In a series of short clips posted to TikTok by Tate’s foster on account @robynbestbrandenburg, Robyn documents Tate’s unbelievable progress since she started fostering him. When she brought Tate home on June 28th, he weighed a mere 36 pounds, and the burns on his ears and face looked raw. Today, one can notice that the hair on his face is growing back, and his wounds are fading, albeit slowly. Not to mention, Tate now weighs over 45 pounds.

Although his road to recovery is anything but short, his optimistic foster family remain dedicated to nursing him back to health. Tate still sees the vet and is on various medications to help ease his pain.

Learning to Trust Again

When Tate arrived at his foster home, he had a deep-seated mistrust toward his adult family members, including Robyn. It was obvious this fear likely stemmed from his ordeal, which was likely carried out by an adult.

Interestingly, Tate bonded pretty fast with Robyn’s children and never showed any resistance to receiving affection from them. But, as they say, patience pays. Robyn knew Tate needed time for him to warm up to her, and she gave him all the time in the world.

Just recently, Robyn revealed that Tate started to seek her out on his own, a sign of his newfound sense of safety around his adult family members. In fact, he often wants to be around Robyn and reciprocates the affection he receives from her a hundredfold. Thanks to his entire foster family, Tate now knows what it’s like to be loved and cared for, something he probably never got to experience in his former life.

“Seeing this kind of cruelty breaks my heart,” said Rocky Kanaka, pet rescue advocate. “No dog should go through such pain. Tate’s resilience shows how amazing animals are. It’s up to us to give them the love and care they need and to raise awareness to prevent such tragedies.”