Kekoa the pit bull terrier is living the good life these days.

"He’s got the life of Riley right now," said Arti Kolberg, who is fostering Kekoa.

He spends many an hour lounging on the couch at his foster home in Okatie, S.C, overlooking the Chechessee River. Kekoa exercises in his big back yard and plays with Kolberg’s one-year-old pit bull, Whisper.

And he eats. Does he ever eat.

"He still inhales food like he’s being denied it. He chows into it," Kolberg said.

It’s the life Kekoa’s friend Pat Manser wants for any dog.

"His tail is always wagging. He’s a happy boy," said Manser, founder of Helping Out Pets in Effingham (HOPE).

Life wasn’t always this good for Kekoa.

He was badly injured and emaciated when Effingham County Sheriff’s deputies found him near Old Louisville Road last month. The starving dog had dirt in his stomach.

"He was skin and bones," Manser said.

Kekoa had multiple injuries that were consistent with dog fighting. He had bites, scars and wounds all over his body.

A section of his jowl had been ripped away. Part of his tongue was missing and part of an ear had been bitten off. He had a hole in his cornea. He had leg wounds that went through to the bone.

"He was just physically destroyed, just mentally beaten down," Kolberg said.

The nature of Kekoa’s injuries led authorities to believe he had been used as a "bait" dog as practice for fighting dogs. His teeth were filed down, common among bait dogs so they cannot fight back and inflict injury to fighting dogs.

"I do believe this has been going on with him for maybe his whole life, because some of those scars and healed wounds are old," Manser said.

The case remains under investigation by the Effingham County Sheriff’s Office Humane Enforcement Division.

"I think he was found for a reason — and I think the reason is that it brought awareness to this county of what’s going on," Manser said.

After Kekoa was found, Manser received a call from the Effingham County Animal Shelter asking if HOPE could help a dog that was in "really bad shape."

"When I saw the condition of the dog, I knew this would be a major undertaking," Manser said. "I’ve never seen anything that bad. They were even afraid to let me see his leg when I went to the shelter.

"But when his eyes met mine, it was just an unbelievable feeling. He has eyes that pierce right through your heart. So I agreed."

He was taken to Animal Hospital at Rice Hope, where Dr. Brandy Bragg treated his wounds. Kekoa stayed at the hospital for about a week and showed steady improvement, living up to the name—Hawaiian for "brave one" – he had been given by one of the animal control officers.

"He’s one tough cookie," Manser said. "You can tell he has a will to live."

To find a foster home, HOPE partnered with the Malachi Foundation in Bluffton, S.C., a rescue organization run by the dog boarding and grooming business Three Black Dogs. Kolberg, a former veterinary assistant at a local animal shelter, had become involved with the Malachi Foundation because of its reputation for finding good homes for rescued pit bulls.

Kolberg said Three Black Dogs owner Holly Zusack called to ask if she would be interested in helping with a "horrific case." Although Kolberg had previously fostered only one dog, she didn’t hesitate to give Kekoa a hand.

"I said, ‘I’ll do it.’

"I’m surprised he warmed up so quickly," Kolberg said. "Almost immediately after I picked him up at Three Black Dogs, he was on the couch and laying on me."

Kekoa hasn’t left that spot much since.

"It seems like he’s been in the family forever," Kolberg said.

And Kekoa will soon have an actual "forever home."

He is undergoing heartworm treatments as he continues to recover from his wounds. Kekoa has also gained some much-needed weight, on a steady diet of soft food that is gentle to his damaged teeth.

"I’m glad I got (to foster) a special dog like him," Kolberg said. "The only word that describes him is, he’s just a gentleman."

Manser estimates that, within the next two to three months, Kekoa will be ready for adoption through the Malachi Foundation.

"I feel bad for Kekoa, what he’s gone through. He deserves the best now, he really does," Manser said.

"He just can’t get enough attention," Kolberg sad. "I think that’s why he’ll fit in so well in another home. He just wants that from anybody."

For more about HOPE and Kekoa, e-mail hope31329@comcast.net or visit www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLbB6IXS9aM.

HOPE is paying the cost of Kekoa’s medical treatment and rehabilitation. Anyone wishing to help with Kekoa’s bills can send donations to HOPE at P.O. Box 2601, Rincon GA, 31326.

Anyone with information on dog fighting or animal cruelty is urged to contact the Effingham County Sheriff’s Office at 754-3449 or Crimestoppers.