Randy Grim of St. Louis, Missouri, had been rescuing animals for over 20 years, but he was still appalled when he first saw Champ.
A concerned citizen had called Randy’s Stray Rescue of St. Louis about the filthy, injured Akita they saw lying in the grass near a busy city street. Randy rushed to the scene to help, discovering the mud-covered dog with bloody wounds covering his head and neck collapsed on the ground, whining in agony.
Speaking in a soothing voice, Randy knelt by the dog and began to stroke his matted fur. “It’s okay, buddy, I’m going to help you,” he told the dog as he kicked off a rescue mission that would soon capture the hearts of hundreds of thousands of concerned animal lovers across the globe.
Randy scooped the large dog into his arms and brought him to an emergency veterinarian’s office in St. Louis. Along the way, he gave the dog a name befitting of a soul who’d already been through so much pain in his life. “I’m naming him Champ because I told him, ‘If you live you’ll be my little champ,’” Randy explained.
At the vet, Champ was placed into a medically induced coma due to the extent of his injuries. He’d been badly beaten and left for dead. If Randy hadn’t come along at just that moment, there’s no doubt that Champ would have died.
Randy stuck by Champ’s side as he fought through his injuries and emerged from the vet’s office weeks later. On the day that Champ was released his new best friend was there to take him to the Stray Rescue to complete his rehabilitation and find him a forever family.
Meanwhile, the rescue’s volunteers had kicked fundraising into high gear, raising awareness and soliciting donations on social media to help pay for Champ’s medical treatments.
Fans lined up to buy “Fight Like Champ” T-shirts to benefit Champ and other rescue dogs, and the shelter kept everyone up to date on his progress. Thanks to Randy and the volunteers’ hard work, Champ eventually made a full recovery and went on to be adopted by a loving family of his own. You can even follow along with him on his own Facebook page!
Just look how beautiful he was under all that mud!
Not only did Randy save Champ’s life, but the shelter raised enough money to ensure that any dog who has suffered at the hands of humans will get care for many more years to come.
A year later, Randy extended his compassionate reach to other species, opening a 501c3 non-profit organization called Randy’s Rescue Ranch to save larger animals like horses, donkeys, pigs, and cows. The ranch also acts as a hospice and assisted living space for elderly dogs who aren’t able to be adopted through Stray Rescue. No animal will go unaided or unloved on Randy’s watch.
Randy and his helpers are always out there working tirelessly to help animals, begging the question “What more could we be doing to help?” These organizations always need donations to help animals, but we can all take a page from Randy’s book and look for ways to help those less fortunate than ourselves, both four-legged and otherwise.
Thank you, Randy, for all that you do to make the world a kinder place for all of us to live. Watch the video of Randy rescuing Champ below, and be sure to share his important mission with others.