Universe, meet Brody. He's an 8-week-old puppy from Rock Hill, South Carolina, and he's basically the cutest. While it's not obvious in the image above, Brody's life recently hung in the balance after he endured being shot 18 times with a BB gun. He was rushed to a local animal hospital when a maintenance worker at an apartment complex noticed that the dog was bleeding heavily from several open wounds. Earlier that day, the employee saw that a fairly large group of teens had been playing with the dog. That's what he thought at the time, at least. After seeing what Brody had been through, however, he came to the horrifying conclusion that the adolescents were taunting and abusing the animal for their own amusement.

Thanks to a non-profit organization called Project Safe Pet, Brody has already found a forever home! It will take him a little while to start trusting humans, but given what he's been through, that's totally okay.

A 14-year-old and a 17-year-old have been arrested in connection with the crime, and police are confident that the two will be convicted. After going through something immeasurably awful, little Brody managed to walk away with a new family that will always keep him safe, and some well-deserved justice.