Abandoned pup waited on discarded mattress for owners to return

DETROIT, Mich. - His nickname is "Boo," and for days, he sat on the mattress left behind by his former owner, abandoned. When one Detroit man learned about Boo, he was out the door within five minutes, he said.

Dustin Oliver, who also goes by the name Mike Diesel, is the founder of Detroit and Youth Rescue. He took a photo of Boo through his truck window when he rolled up, showing the black and white pup asleep on the mattress alongside other belongings left on the curb.

The heartbreaking photo has been shared thousands of times and went viral on Facebook.

Oliver said it took him about 15 hours of repeated trips back to visit Boo to earn the pup's trust over two days, which included long conversations, many snacks, two Egg McMuffins and some KFC. "I spent the entire day earning his trust," Oliver said. "He was not leaving those belongings because they had the smell of his former owner," he said.

Finally, when Oliver returned for a second day, Boo allowed him to put a leash on him and the two sat down. "I'm not going to hurt you," he told him. "You can trust me, everything's going to be OK," he told Boo. Then he wrapped him up in a blanket and took him into the truck and straight to the vet.

Boo was in good shape, except that he has stage two heartworm, which will take months to treat, including daily pills and soon, injections.

Right now, Oliver says Boo can't be adopted out for about six months while he is undergoing treatment, but he is looking for a very special person to foster him and give him a quiet space to recover.

In the meantime, in the photos posted by Oliver, Boo looks like one happy pup.