I hope by now you’ve had a look at our Animals We Love issue, featuring some of our neighborhood’s most photogenic pets.

Here’s another dog we ran across while working on the September issue — Shay.

She wasn’t pretty to look at, at first.

This shockingly skinny pitiful-looking dog was rescued from a Dallas yard, where she had been chained up for days, maybe weeks, in the heat with no water. She was emaciated and dehydrated when SPCA of Texas humane investigators discovered her.

Sadly Shay’s brother, who was rescued along with her, survived less than an hour at the emergency veterinary hospital.

Maura Davies, who serves as the SPCA’s VP of communications, snapped Shay’s first post-rescue photo.

Those photos garnered the attention of a local news station. After weeks of rehabilitation under the care of an SMU-area foster mom, Sue Demaree, FOX 4 News broadcasted Shay’s story with stunning before and after photos.

A viewer fell in love with Shay — who wouldn’t? — and the rest is history. She now resides permanently in a Dallas suburb with a loving human dad.

Shay is the model for an SPCA ad that runs in our September issue, but her story is like many the SPCA sees every day. In fact, the SPCA investigates more than 4,000 animal cruelty cases per year.

If you feel compelled to help the organization that treats and finds homes for neglected and abused animals like Shay, you can learn more about ways to do so here on the SPCA website.