A Pit Bull sealed shut in a wooden box has found a home with the woman who freed him. The dog now named Diego struggled to get out of his boxed prison but the dog house’s entrance had been nailed shut and he couldn’t escape. It was late December in Oklahoma City when someone told Feleciana Ramirez that an animal had been dumped in a wooden box near the Oklahoma River and that it was still alive.

Ramirez went to investigate and spotted a small wooden box. The entrance had been covered with a piece of wood screwed and nailed shut.

“I had a utility ax, and I broke it open, peeked in it, and saw that he was in there,” Ramirez told 9 News Oklahoma of how she first saw Diego. “I was surprised to find anything alive because he wasn’t whimpering. He wasn’t making any kind of noise.”

Jagged nails were sticking out and she could see there was damage to the wood around the entrance, likely from the dog trying to gnaw and scrape his way out.

The dog was cramped inside and she could see he was malnourished and covered with scrapes and abrasions.

“He was dumped near the river with no food or water for an unknown amount of time, just left to die. Luckily, he was found and rescued. There were scratch marks on the entrance from where he desperately tried to escape. His body is covered in scars and wounds. He is emaciated. He has suffered physically and emotionally, likely far longer than just his time in that box,” Mutt Misfits Animal Rescue Society posted on Facebook on Jan. 1 about Diego.

Mutt Misfits Animal Rescue Society stepped forward to rescue Diego a few days after he was taken to OKC Animal Welfare. He went to recover and heal with foster mom Kayla Wise.

“He was very tired, very scared. Just exhausted more than anything, I think, because he slept for a long time,” Wise told 9 News. “His case is the worst that I’ve had in my home.”

Over the next 5 weeks, under Wise’s care Diego gained 20 pounds and his confidence grew. “Despite all he’s endured, he is sweet and he is gentle,” Mutt Misfits wrote on Facebook. They placed him up for adoption and among the families looking to take him home was Ramirez and her family. Mutt Misfits interviewed several families and ended up selecting Ramirez.

Ramirez couldn’t be more happy to have Diego join her family but still can’t imagine “anyone hurting him the way they did.” As for Diego, we’re sure he never imagined having the family he now has – one that will love and cherish him.