Punished without crime

This is Stefka.
Stefka has lived the typical life of most stray dogs unwillingly populating our streets – no one knows where and when she was born, no one knows where and how she has lived, but as an ultimate survivor, she survived from a little puppy, through a mommy, to this big bear-alike doggy today.

Last spring, Stefka appeared in a park in the capital, disoriented, recently being neutered by Ecobalance, and apparently not from this part of the city. She looked like she recently had puppies, but there was no sign of them for days – she could have been neutered while pregnant, or right after she has given birth – whichever, we would never know what happened to her puppies. Thanks to her gentle character and goodwill, Stefka quickly became friends with the rest of the dogs living in the park and began to live there permanently, while food came from the people passing by the park regularly.

And then the “happily ever after” story discontinues. One morning in October, Stefka appeared with her front paw pending like a ticker, without being able to move it, making it difficult for her to walk around, so she just kept on lying down in the fallen tree leaves. It is not clear how a dog, which lives in a park and never crosses the street, can all of a sudden have a broken paw with no visible outside wounds, but what was clear was that this dog needed help, soon. So Stefka was noticed by one of our volunteers, who walks her own dog in this park, and together with another volunteer they organize the catching, x-ray and check up the same day. Despite the pain, Stefka remains calm and does not even make a sound, just remains motionless, making the check-up easier. The findings show that the paw has been broken in two pieces like a wooden stick, and a surgery to place a plate in required as soon as possible, as the bone has began to calcify. Beside all that, Stefka’s front teeth have scrubbed down to her gums, which means that the dog has eaten a lot of stones, roots and the like… she’s the only one who knows what her tough life was like. The volunteers succeed in supporting financially the surgery and it occurs the day after.

Like with all dogs with plate surgery, Stefka had to stay in a safe place for 3 months until the secondary check-up and the removal of the plate. This is how Stefka became a resident of our shelter. At the end of January, this gentle girl would go through a second surgery for removal of the plate, and after recovery, she would need a Home. It is crowded in the shelter, and after all she has been through, it would be horrible for Stefka to go back to the street, where she would be in constant danger, and the same can happen to her again.

Stefka is extremely loving creature, with a calm nature and a need to spread her love. Every time she goes out of the cage, she shows her happiness, and then she lies down on the ground. She likes sleeping a lot, and when she sleeps in the presence of a person, she always tries to be close, unconditionally touching them with one of her paws, as for more security to know she’s not alone. Like most grown-up dogs, she does not make any troubles inside and is able to hold until she is taken out. Stefka needs a warm and secure home, where she would be safe. Could it be you, who’s reading that, the one who would give her this home? She would give you all her unconditional enormous love and trust in return!

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