Ladybird the Staffordshire Terrier has had a difficult life. She was originally trained to be a service dog for a woman who suffered from narcolepsy and seizures. When that woman’s health issues led to her becoming homeless on the streets of Austin, TX, Ladybird was by her side, pulling her wheelchair.Ladybird’s owner asked her friends Sharon Henderson and “Miss Jane” to care for Ladybird after she passed away.

Unfortunately, a fellow homeless man got to her first, stealing her in the middle of the night and hitchhiking to Portland, Oregon with Ladybird in tow. Henderson told Fox7 Austin:“The neighbor in the living facility called this other homeless guy and he came and took Ladybird in the middle of the night knowing that her wishes were that he not have her.”

That was 3 years ago.

A month ago, Ladybird was picked up from the streets in Portland, and her microchip led to Henderson and “Miss Jane” getting a phone call. The man who had stolen Ladybird had passed away, and she had been wandering the streets. She weighed only 30 pounds and was losing her hearing. According to Henderson:

“She hadn’t eaten in so long, she had no jaw muscles. Her head muscles had atrophied and she couldn’t even chew. Her ribs were sticking out and she couldn’t even go up two stairs without falling backwards.”

Ladybird was too weak to travel, so she stayed with a foster mom in Oregon while she regained her strength. Now that Ladybird has returned to Texas, Henderson vows to give her the life she deserves.

“I want her to enjoy the rest of her life in the lap of luxury she’s never known, and have a family.”