A little dog who was found living inside a tree, frightened and alone, has been given a fresh new start at a happy life – in a real home surrounded by people who love her.

It is believed that the chihuahua, named Boo, had been abandoned in the wooded area where she was found in April. Left to fend for herself in the formidable wild, the dog took up refuge from predators and the elements in a hollowed-out tree trunk.

By the time rescuers arrived to help her, Boo had lost all trust in humans, but once returned to safety, she slowly began to come out of her shell.

“She’ll make someone a good companion if we can find the right match,” animal control officer Shirley Zindler told The Dodo at the time. “I will foster her until the right match is made.”

Under Zindler’s foster care, Boo learned to trust again and seemed eager to reclaim the love of a human companion, which she had sadly been denied.

“She began to greet me with a happy dance when I came home and the day I got her first tail wag and first tentative kisses was a milestone,” Zindler wrote on her blog, The Bark. “She started following me around the house wanting to be near but she still had a long way to go and continued to be resistant to touch most of the time.”

But Zindler new that what Boo needed most was a permanent home where should could settle in to the life of unbroken love that every animal like her deserves. Thanks to the outpouring of support generated by her story’s appearance on The Dodo and elsewhere, it didn’t take long for Boo to find her perfect match with a new family.

Boo’s long wait is finally over.

“The family is doing a fabulous job with her and Boo is settling in,” wrote Zindler.

With a tale as touching as Boo’s, a dog for whom all hope likely seemed lost, it might be easy to forget that there are countless others like her who have yet to be shown otherwise – but Zindler wants people to know that they deserve a happy ending too: