From Boxed Prison to Loving Home: Diego’s Second Chance
In late December in Oklahoma City, a horrifying discovery was made. A Pit Bull had been sealed shut inside a wooden box near the Oklahoma River, left with no food, no water, and no way to escape.
The entrance to the makeshift doghouse had been screwed and nailed shut, jagged nails sticking out where the desperate pup had gnawed and scratched, trying to claw his way out. His body was emaciated, scarred, and covered in wounds. He had been left there to die in silence.
The Moment of Rescue
When Feleciana Ramirez got a call about a trapped animal, she grabbed a utility ax and rushed to the scene. She smashed the wooden cover and peeked inside, shocked to find a living dog staring back at her.
“I was surprised to find anything alive,” Ramirez said. “He wasn’t whimpering. He wasn’t making any kind of noise.”
The Pit Bull—later named Diego—was exhausted and terrified, but alive.
The Road to Healing
Diego was taken in by Mutt Misfits Animal Rescue Society, where foster mom Kayla Wise began nursing him back to health. “He was very tired, very scared. Just exhausted more than anything,” Wise recalled. For weeks, Diego slept, ate, and slowly began to trust again.
In just five weeks, he gained 20 pounds, and his gentle, sweet nature began to shine through despite all he had endured.
The Happy Ending He Deserved
When it came time for adoption, several families applied—but the rescue knew the perfect match. They chose the very woman who had saved him from his wooden prison: Feleciana Ramirez.
Now, Diego finally knows what love feels like. Ramirez says she still can’t imagine “anyone hurting him the way they did.” But Diego’s past no longer defines him—today, he is cherished, safe, and surrounded by the family he was always meant to have.
From silence in a nailed-shut box to joy in a loving home, Diego’s story proves that even in the darkest places, hope can still be found.