In the video, he feeds the shy dog as he eats beside her in a kennel. The dog eventually seems to relax and focus on the food before her.

Granite Hills Animal Care took the dog in on Jan. 29 after someone found her "emaciated, starved, dehydrated, hypothermic, anemic" and suffering from a vaginal prolapse, Mathis said.

When he first saw her, Mathis was afraid he would have to put her to sleep. With the encouragement of some of his Facebook friends, who told him he should try to save her life "especially if she still has a will to live," he instead took her to the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Georgia.

His friends named the dog Graycie Claire, because they felt she should at least have a name if she faced the possibility of being put to sleep.

The name is "spelled with 'gray' for her coloring, and a double name being Southern and all..." Mathis said.

Doctors at UGA managed to get Graycie on the road to recovery, bringing up her temperature and rehydrating her. She had started to eat on her own and appeared to be relaxing somewhat, Mathis said.

Graycie still has more recovery ahead of her before she can find a home.

"She decides how fast, or slow, things progress," he said. "Hopefully she'll learn to trust people quickly and be ready for a home and family very soon."

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