Now, all she wants is food and cuddles.

Last week, a dog in St. Louis, Missouri, found herself in a terrible situation. Tied to a fence at an old school that had been left behind, the puppy was really skinny and super weak.

No one knows how long the puppy was stuck there. Thankfully, someone saw what was going on and called animal control right away.

“It’s a miracle someone even saw her,” Stray Rescue of St. Louis wrote on Facebook.

As soon as animal control saw how bad the dog’s condition was, they knew she needed to see a vet straight away. They took her to the Stray Rescue of St. Louis clinic and got her the treatments she needed to survive.

“She was in terrible condition, but she was so sweet,” Natalie Thomson, the chief communications officer at Stray Rescue of St. Louis, told The Dodo. She was pretty weak and had lost a lot of her bone mass, but she trusted us and was keen to cuddle our vet techs.

The people who rescued the dog wanted to give her as much food as she wanted straight away, but they had to feed her gradually so she didn’t go into shock. If a dog is underweight, they might get a condition called refeeding syndrome if they overeats too quickly.

As the rescuers gradually started her on food again, she started gaining weight at a healthy rate. It’s now been over a week since the dog, whom her rescuers named Levey, was saved. She’s growing stronger and more confident every day.

“Levey’s personality is amazing,” Thomson said. “She’s so grateful for love and attention, and she loves other dogs. All she wants to do is play.”

Levey’s favourite pooch to play with is her new pal Alaric, who was also rescued from starvation by the shelter. They hit it off right away, and they’ve both got a lot in common.

“They’ve got similar play styles and they’re both feeling more energetic than they have in ages, so now they just want to wrestle,” Thomson said.

Levey’s doing much better than a week ago, but she’s still not quite ready for adoption yet. At the moment, she’s looking for a foster family who can take care of her until she’s ready to be spayed.

As Stray Rescue of St. Louis put it on Facebook, “She’s all set for the fun part… to be fattened up!”

Now that Levey’s finally safe and sound, she wants to be loved.