When Patsy’s family moved out of their home, they chained her up to the house – and left her there.

Members of Hope for Paws, an animal rescue organization in Los Angeles, were visiting Costa Rica this month when they got a call about poor Patsy. When they arrived, Patsy was tied up outside her home on a metal chain, just waiting for someone to notice her again.

“She was just there alone,” Eldad Hagar, founder of Hope for Paws, told The Dodo. “The neighbors up the hill heard her bark, gave her water and food and were trying to figure out what to do. They didn’t want to untie her and then have her run away and get hit by a car.”

As her rescuers approached her, Patsy became visibly excited to see them, and eagerly took the food they offered her.

Once Patsy was freed from that metal chain, she couldn’t have been happier.

Patsy, who by that point was covered in fleas and ticks, was then taken to Costa Rica Dog Rescue, where she was cleaned up.

A day later, Patsy was examined by a local vet, who discovered she was actually very sick with a disease known as ehrlichiosis, which is transmitted by ticks and commonly found in wild or stray dogs.

Patsy needed to be hospitalized …

… but that didn’t stop her from wanting to play.

Even though she was sick, Patsy never acted like it, and remained happy, playful and so grateful to have been rescued.

Patsy is still being treated at the vet in Costa Rica, and will be flown to Los Angeles in a few weeks when she’s completely healed. From there, she can finally start looking for her new forever family.