Houston (Texas) - What a depressing sight: Last month, a badly marked female dog arrived at the "This is Houston" animal shelter in the US state of Texas. The poor creature had hardly any fur left, but was mostly purple in color. What had happened to this little four-legged friend?

One thing was immediately clear to the animal shelter team: the dog had to be treated as quickly as possible. During the examination, the vets finally discovered the bitter truth.

Violet, as she was now appropriately named, had been treated for her mange with a purple antiseptic. The problem: this was a product that is usually used on cows and other farm animals.

The antiseptic was far too strong for the petite Violet. Fortunately, her doctors were able to get the problem under control, as The Dodo currently reports.

Beforehand, however, the staff at This is Houston had uploaded photos of the purple patient to their Facebook page.

The sight of one woman there immediately broke her heart.

"I don't know why, but I thought to myself: 'I have to be this dog's foster mother'," explained US-American Bri in an interview with The Dodo.

No sooner said than done, Violet ended up with the woman, who took loving care of her for weeks. The dog was regularly bathed with medicinal products and rubbed all over her body with coconut oil. A pair of dog pyjamas helped her against the cold.

"She's much happier now, I can tell," Bri told the animal magazine. "And she just loves to cuddle (...) She snuggles up in my arms like a little squirrel," she added.

Violet is currently doing so well that she will soon be placed with new owners. On Tuesday, This is Houston posted an update with new photos of her on Facebook . She already looks much healthier. So a happy ending is getting closer and closer.