It's National Rescue Dog Day and here in Louisville, who better to talk about than beloved Ethan the rescue dog.Ethan's story is one that spread across social media after he was found starved and abandoned in January 2021 outside the parking lot of the Kentucky Humane Society.Since then, he's come a long way and now he's thriving in his "fur-ever" home.In honor of National Rescue Dog Day, here's a look back at some of his moments as a reminder of just how the lives of rescue dogs can change with some TLC.Remember when Ethan was first found? He was all skin and bones!According to KHS, he had no muscles and had to learn to walk again. He only had a 50 percent chance of surviving when he was first found."Look to your local animal shelter because between Kentucky Humane Society and shelters in other regions, there are literally thousands of animals who will need help this year," said Andrea Blair with KHS. "They may not be named Ethan and they may not have his story but they're just as deserving as love and kindness as he is." After some hard work and dedication, Ethan began improvingHe was still emaciated but you can see in this video Ethan getting the hang of walking again. That was huge progress for the dog after not even being able to lift his head.Then, he got a big appetiteWith the help of the KHS staff, Ethan was able to pack on some pounds. Because of his condition, he needed feedings every few hours. But you can read more here about his big appetite!Remember when he spent his first night out of the shelter?Once Ethan was healthy enough, he was able to spend his first night out of the shelter with staff member Jeff (who ended up adopting him later on). Ethan would then start spending the day at the shelter and the evenings with Jeff.You can tell in this photo, he was living the good life.Ethan loves to learn tricks!Check out this video of Ethan learning a few tricks from Jeff!He had a DNA test done!Many wondered what kind of dog Ethan was and the KHS decided to do a DNA test. It revealed that Ethan was a mix of six different breeds: Presa Canario, Mastiff, Argentine Dogo, Bull Dog, Cane Corso, American Staffordshire Terrier. Wow!Did you know Ethan was rescued by an 11-year-old boy?The organization shared Tatum and his family's story of finding Ethan on their Facebook page:"After they dropped off their donations, they saw what they thought was a dead dog in our parking lot lying on a white towel. They stopped their vehicle and jumped out of the car. They called the adoption desk and waited outside with Ethan until our staff came out and rushed him to our veterinary ward. Their 11-year-old son, Tatum, was understandably very upset to see a dog in such a horrific condition."You can read about the reunion here.And this brings us to his adoptionFrom severely emaciated to happy-go-lucky, those following Ethan's journey know just how much he went through to get to this point. In March, the KHS announced that Ethan would head to his forever home with Jeff."There was just something about him and his story when he got dropped off that just touched me," Jeff said. "I wanted to be sure I could do anything I could for him."Despite what he's been through, Jeff said Ethan loves people and animals."To be starved like he was, you know, he didn't have any food or water for and he was obviously in a kennel where he couldn't get up and move around," said Callaway. "He has no food aggression, he has no dog aggression, has no people aggression. He's just a lovable, laid back, very sweet personality."What's Ethan up to now? "Ethan is living his best life. Some days he goes to work with his poppa, some days he stays home and rests. His favorite things are to meet new people and animals of all kinds and he still brightens everyone맥스카지노�s day when he맥스카지노�s around. He is the best kind of playful and sweet all rolled into one."You can also keep following Ethan's journey on his social media page here.