They Gave Berlin 10% to Live. His Survival Shocked Everyone

When rescuers first saw Berlin, they did not understand how he was still breathing.

He stood on the side of the road, barely upright, his back legs shaking under his weight. Cars passed. People passed. No one stopped. He waited anyway.

“No one can imagine how this dog survived,” one rescuer said later. “We had never seen a dog this thin before. He was skin and bones. There was nothing left in his stomach.”

Berlin should not have been alive that day. His body was failing. His strength was gone. Even standing was an effort he could not sustain for long.

The story was first shared publicly through a rescue video narrated by Rocky Kanaka on the Animal Shelter YouTube channel, using footage and testimony from the rescue team who pulled Berlin from the roadside.

What they documented was not a dramatic save or a fast turnaround. It was a slow, uncertain fight that stretched across months, filled with medical setbacks, fear, and moments where survival felt impossible.

If you have ever wondered how much suffering a dog can endure and still keep going, Berlin’s story answers that.

Here is why his case shook even seasoned rescuers.

A Body at the Edge

Berlin was starved and paralyzed | Source: Rocky Kanaka

Berlin was starving. Not thin. Not underfed. Starving.

His muscles had wasted away from lack of food. Dehydration left him weak and unsteady. He could not stand for long. His eyes carried exhaustion and confusion, the kind that comes when a body has nothing left to give.

When the team finally reached him, he tried to stand anyway.

“He was still trying,” a rescuer said. “Even then, he was fighting.”

They rushed him into the car. The drive to the clinic took two hours. Berlin did not make it through the arrival.

“He collapsed after fighting so hard just to get help,” one team member recalled. “When the doctors saw him, they were shocked. We were all shocked.”

What the Vets Found

Berlin was diagnosed with extreme malnutrition and dehydration. Left untreated, either condition alone can shut down vital organs.

Then came the lab results.

He tested positive for tick-borne illnesses, including ehrlichiosis and anaplasmosis. Both are transmitted through tick bites and can cause fever, weakness, bleeding problems, and severe weight loss when treatment is delayed.

The Companion Animal Parasite Council explains that these infections can quietly worsen over time, especially in dogs already weakened by hunger or neglect.

Then the vets raised a darker concern.

They suspected canine distemper.

Canine distemper is a viral disease that attacks the respiratory, gastrointestinal, and nervous systems. There is no cure. Treatment focuses on hydration, nutrition, and preventing secondary infections while the dog’s immune system fights the virus.

T he American Kennel Club notes that survival rates can be very low in severe cases, even with aggressive medical care.

“When we found out, we cried,” a rescuer said. “There’s no medicine that fixes it. You just wait and hope.”

No one could say if Berlin would survive the night.

One Week In, the Situation Worsened

Seven days later, Berlin was still critical. Then the team learned something else.

His spine was broken.

The injury explained why his back legs failed him. Surgery was impossible. His body was too weak to survive anesthesia.

“We had to move him to another veterinarian,” the rescue team shared. “That doctor told us his survival was already a miracle.”

There were concerns that whoever had cared for Berlin before may not have sought help despite clear signs of illness.

“And somehow,” one rescuer said, “he stayed alive. It felt like fate brought him to us.”

Feeding Him Was Dangerous Too

Even food carried risk.

When animals are starved for long periods, feeding them too quickly can trigger a life-threatening condition known as refeeding syndrome.

MSPCA-Angell explains that sudden shifts in electrolytes can cause heart failure or neurological complications if nutrition is not reintroduced slowly and under veterinary supervision.

Berlin’s meals were small. Carefully measured. Closely monitored.

Every step mattered.

Three Months of Waiting

Days blurred into weeks. Weeks into months.

Berlin fought infections. He endured treatments. He slept more than he woke. The rescue team watched and waited, never certain what morning would bring.

“Those three months were incredibly hard,” one team member said. “We cried a lot. We were scared a lot.”

Then, slowly, the news changed.

The diseases cleared. The virus passed. Berlin survived.

For the first time, he left the clinic.

They prepared toys. Blankets. Gifts. Berlin ignored them all.

“All he wanted was love,” a rescuer said. “He had never had that before.”