We always say that whoever abandons an animal is most likely condemning it to a death that can be tremendous. The case we are asking you for help with today is one of the toughest we have seen over the years. We will start by telling you that we have named this little dog Santo; As soon as you learn the details of his sad story, you will understand why (the images are harsh).
According to what Celia , the person who saved Santo, told us when she contacted us, he appeared half dying in the town of Villaralto in Córdoba. It was sighted by someone who notified her. She was looking for him for two days, until she managed to find him in a dying state. The little dog was starving, exhausted, with a body full of wounds, and hundreds of worms in his left ear that were literally eating him alive. I could only move my eyes.
We believe that not anyone who finds a dog in this state would be able to take it home and spend four hours extracting from its body every last one of the worms that were eating away at its life. After doing so, Celia healed the tremendous hole of putrefied flesh in his neck as much as she could, and transferred him to a veterinary center where she personally financed an emergency veterinary treatment.
Back at his rescuer's house, Santo spent five days collapsed, unable to move from the ground; But Celia's unconditional love and care made the miracle happen: Santo stood up and walked towards her to receive cuddles and food.
“It has been 5 days since his rescue and last night was the first day he stood up. He has been reborn and I want him to be happy and I am sure that you can make it possible.” These were the words with which Celia asked us for help for Santo and, without hesitation, at El Refugio we assumed the commitment that Santo would become part of our family, and fight for him. This image is from the moment the little boy arrived at our veterinary center in Madrid, where our team, after thoroughly examining him and performing various tests, made the determination that Santo requires hospitalization. At the veterinary hospital they do a CT scan to find out if neurological damage may have occurred, and they detect that his entire body is riddled with several dozen spikes. The conclusion is that he had to remain hospitalized for fifteen days, during which four surgeries were performed to remove the treacherous grain spears.
There is still another intervention to perform to remove his left ear canal , in which infection continues to occur. But to do this, we first need Santo to recover from the latest interventions in a calm and stable space. That is why we are making an urgent appeal today: we need someone to open their home temporarily to welcome him, until he regains his strength and we can carry out the missing operation. It's very urgent. Please, if you want to help Santo as a shelter, write us an e-mail to aleja@elrefugio.org attaching a contact telephone number, we will call you. The reception would have to be in Madrid or nearby. Maybe now you understand why we have called him HOLY. He is a 3 year old mastiff. He is great and very, very calm and affectionate. It will not give the slightest problem to the person who decides to host it. You only need rest, and take short walks to relieve yourself and not lose mobility, but above all, rest. Celia, we want to publicly convey to you all our admiration and affection for what you have done with good old Santo, just as we imagine you have done before with hundreds of other children, and many others whom you will help in the future. People like you reinforce the idea that doing good is much more powerful than doing evil. By saving Santo from dying, you have given life to many thousands of people who today we want to pay you our most sincere tribute.
In this video you can see images of how Santo was when they rescued him. They are very hard. We warn you so as not to offend sensitivities. You will also be able to see how Nacho Paunero receives Santo upon his arrival at our veterinary center in Madrid. Finally, we want to thank our partners and donors. The entire hospitalization process is being very expensive, and we want to remind you that your generous contributions serve, among many other things, so that we can fight to move this angel's life forward, whatever the cost: we will achieve it, Holy Heart! Hugs to all, health, and lots of life!!
