What to Know Six years ago, a 1-year-old pit bull mix pup was found stuffed inside trash bag after being thrown down a garbage chute in Newark

Patrick made a miraculous recovery at an animal hospital in New Jersey, and was adopted by the hospital administrator

He's now thriving in his new home

Patrick bounds into his living room with his favorite blankie in his mouth, tail wagging, paws clipping excitedly on the floor, as he happily greets a new visitor. His rich, reddish fur glints in the sunlight as he bounces around, his energy infectious.

It’s hard to believe he’s the same starved, skeletal pit bull pup found on the brink of death in Newark six years ago. Stuffed into a trash bag and thrown 19 stories down an apartment building garbage chute, Patrick was found only when a janitor noticed the trash bag moving and opened it to discover a breathing dog.

“It was as if he was not even alive,” said Patricia Scavelli, administrator at the Garden State Veterinary Specialists, the 24-hour animal hospital that ended up taking in Patrick. Scavelli and her husband have been caring for the pup since.

The dog weighed just 15 pounds when he was discovered on March 16, 2011. Patrick, named for the holiday that came a day later, was so emaciated that his body was shutting down. He was infested with bugs, his nails were overgrown and the top of his head was caved in because malnutrition had wasted away the muscle and tissue. The sight of him was striking -- and disturbing.



The veterinarian who took in and treated Patrick didn't expect him to make it through the night.

Slowly, Patrick began recovering at the animal hospital. Doctors were careful to feed him slowly and get him used to food. An endoscopy revealed a giant hairball in his stomach, and he underwent surgery to get that removed. Eventually he was neutered. He tripled his weight and simply flourished. By that time, vets estimated that Patrick was about a year old, based on his teeth.

“There wasn’t any magic, honestly,” said Scavelli. “We just fed him, and he developed normally."

It was Scavelli that Patrick took a particular liking to over the next couple of months at the hospital. Her husband owned the hospital, and she often spent long days and nights at the family business. Patrick grew attached.

“He would literally crawl under my feet at the desk, feeling safe in his own little place,” she said. “So it became really clear he was very close to me. Even the person from the [local] Humane Society was like, ‘I don’t think you have a choice. You have to adopt this dog,” Scavelli said.

After months of waiting for Patrick to heal, and for a court battle over his custody to wrap up, Scavelli brought him to her family's Colts Neck home.

Patrick instantly took to his new environment. The Scavellis already had another 12-year-old pit bull mix, Lilly, and an older cat. Patrick formed a special bond with Lilly, following her around and mimicking her, essentially learning how to be a dog -- an experience he never truly had because he was traumatized when he was so young.

The family began to understand what Patrick may have gone through in his short traumatic past. He still had scars, which veterinarians thought were from him having been bitten, perhaps as a bait dog. He would be terrified of going inside a bathroom, leading Scavelli to speculate he may have been confined to closets or other small spaces. It also became obvious that Patrick had been teased with food in the past: for a dog that had been so emaciated, he barely touched his food -- perhaps he’d been teased or tortured with food that tasted bad or sickened him. And when Scavelli’s husband brought a golf club into the home one day, a terrified Patrick fled and hid, apparently scared of the stick.

“These were things you learned as time went on, and you got him used to the idea that this is OK, he’s not going to hurt you,” said Scavelli.

When Lilly died last year, Patrick got very quiet. For about three months, he was upset and depressed and didn't act like himself. But he soon emerged with a newfound sense of confidence, almost as if he was rising to the occasion, recognizing that he was now the protector.

“He could have been vicious and mean because ‘people did not take care of me,’” said Scavelli. “But I think that these mixed-breed type pit bulls, they want to please their owner. They really want to be happy with their owner, and they will do anything to love them.

“And with Patrick -- he’ll cry if you go to the bathroom. He wants to be with you all the time. He wants that closeness,” she said. “You’ll find that if you sit down, he has to be there. If you’re laying down, he has to be there. He wants a close connection with people.”

Even as a 7-year-old dog now, Patrick remains puppyish. He still has his favorite blankie from his time in the animal hospital, and loves to run and chase after deer that wander on the property sometimes with the blankie in his mouth, as if it makes him invincible, Scavelli laughs.

And all these years later, Patrick isn’t forgotten by his admirers and supporters who first rooted for him when the story of his horrific abuse emerged. Care packages and donations flooded the animal hospital when he was there, much of which was donated to the local Humane Society. One woman from Australia sent a scrapbook chronicling his journey. Another sent a bandana with his name on it.

“Every year, around his birthday, there’s someone who goes out there, ‘Hey, give us a new picture of Patrick, how’s he doing?’” said Scavelli. “My husband sees many appointments and people are still like, ‘How’s Patrick?’”

“It’s like you could be anywhere, and people would say, ‘How’s Patrick?’ He’s had a very lasting effect on everybody. He touched people.”

But Patrick, who seems now like he could be a puppy forever, is oblivious to all of that. He’s just eager to offer a piece of his blankie to new human friends so they can play tug-of-war, or to sit for a treat, or to keep a close eye on the lawn outside for any possible birds that encroach on his territory.

After all he went through, finally, he’s just a happy little dog in his happy home.

Patrick's old owner, Kisha Curtis of Newark, pleaded guilty in 2013 to animal cruelty. A judge sentenced her to 18 months probation and $2,000 restitution to the New Jersey SPCA.