The folks at Saving Hope Rescue (SHR) are dedicated to rescuing animals in and around Fort Worth, Texas — combing the city for injured and homeless pets daily. They don’t always venture out of Fort Worth for rescue missions, but after seeing a picture recently of a dog living in a box eight hours away, they knew they had to help her.

“We had this sweet girl transported to the DFW area, having just seen a picture of her in a cardboard box,” SHR wrote on Facebook.

The homeless dog, later named Ridley, lived farther away than most of their rescues, but the staff at SHR was determined to save her life. Volunteers chipped in to shuttle Ridley to SHR’s emergency clinic, and, hours later, the veterinary team welcomed the girl with warm hugs.

Ridley was tiny when she first met her friends at SHR. And, although she had a rambunctious puppy personality, she was still struggling with her health. After a full medical checkup, the veterinary team realized what was happening.

“We discovered she had a serious heart defect,” SHR wrote. “It could only be fixed with a balloon valvuloplasty procedure at Texas A&M.”

While Ridley waited for her procedure to be approved, she went off to a loving foster home to decompress. There, she met a couple of foster siblings, whom she fell in love with immediately. Finally, she’d learned what it felt like to belong to a family.

“Ridley is a tiny, playful 3-month-old puppy who loves big dogs and all humans,” Ridley’s foster parents wrote to SHR, later shared on Facebook. “She’s very smart and quick to learn … She’s a spunky little girl with lots of love to give!”

Shelter staff worked to secure funds for her heart procedure, and Ridley continued to grow and thrive in her foster home. She learned basic commands, mastered communication with her older dog siblings and developed a deep love of enrichment toys.

Her health remained a concern, but her cheery disposition showed that she was already improving.

After months of waiting, Ridley finally received her life-saving surgery in April. As always, the resilient dog powered through the procedure and is now on the mend. And, thankfully, she never has to worry about her heart condition again.

“[With] this surgery, it will be a complete fix, and she gets to live a FULL life,” SHR wrote on Facebook.

Ridley is expected to fully recover soon and, in the meantime, is enjoying quality snuggle time with her foster parents, Erin and Charles O’Brien. She’ll eventually go up for adoption once she’s 100 percent healed, and her supportive caregivers are hopeful that she’ll find a family just as sweet as she is.

“She’s the perfect little pittie girl …” Erin O’Brien wrote in a Facebook comment.