Once a 'walking skeleton,' dog adopted by lieutenant who rescued him

GOLDEN VALLEY, Minn. (FOX 9) - A dog, just days away from death, is getting a second chance at life.

“Just knowing after what he went through he was still super happy and excited to be around people is really amazing,” said Ashley Trock, the lead veterinarian at the Animal Humane Society in Golden Valley, Minnesota.

Reggie arrived at the Animal Humane Society early last month – barely alive.  

“He had almost no muscle left, he was basically a walking skeleton with just skin over him,” said Trock.

Law enforcement was serving an arrest warrant when they found Reggie in brutal conditions at a Brooklyn Park home.

“He was locked in an upstairs bedroom for a long period of time,” said Lt. Shane Magnuson with the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office. “It was all feces and garbage and no food, no food anywhere in the house.”

Lt. Magnuson says another dog in the home was found dead and Reggie was close to the same fate.

“He was completely all bones except for his head,” he said. “His eyes, they’ve actually came back out, they were sunk into his head. He looks skinny now – he was actually much, much skinnier.”

Despite the poor conditions, Lt. Magnuson says he saw something special in Reggie that day.

“Tail wagging, obviously nearly starved to death, but still in good spirits even in his condition,” he said.

And that tail wagging hasn’t stopped since.

The pair reunited Tuesday for a special adoption day as Reggie officially became a part of the lieutenant's family.

“I'm just really happy to take him home, he looks way better than he did the first day I saw him – way better,” said Lt. Magnuson.

It’s a storybook ending – or beginning – for a dog who has been through the worst, but never let it keep him down.

“It’s really nice to see the full story on one, and one that was so close to not making it and see him go home with what looks to be an amazing family,” said Trock.

An investigation underway into what happened to Reggie and the other dog in the Brooklyn Park home. The owner could face criminal animal cruelty charges.

Meanwhile, Reggie will be kept on a carefully monitored diet in order to gain more weight.