It was a very dark night at a public parking lot, near a pile of garbage. A furry monster crawled towards me. It was trembling out of fear but had no strength left to flee away. This was the night I met Sang-ah.
Malnutrition, skin infection, scabies infestation, cachexia, hernia and deformed legs. The little creature had all of these conditions. She was also positive on parvovirus enteritis with watery diarrhea.
I was hopeless. She would not survive any longer. Sang-Ah looked at me through her pure eyes. It was as if she was saying ‘I don’t want to die.’ I gave her the name ‘Sang-Ah’ after the old Korean legend’s fairy who lives in the moon. Like a miracle, she recovered from Parvovirus infection.
Sang-Ah was only about 4 months old. She did not know what was to be loved. We didn’t not know what happened to her mother. Sang-Ah was rescued at the verge of starvation. Every one of her bones was showing through her infected skin. I poured her some dog food. She came stumbling with her disabled body and hurriedly gulped down without even chewing.
Sang-Ah was missing her foot on her left front leg. Her right foot was curved inwards. Her mother’s malnutritious state would probably caused Sang-Ah to be born with deformity. She was very unstable with movement, because her body weight was not supported.
She needed nutritious supplements and surgery for her hernia. The skin infection on her entire body seemed difficult to reach full recovery. Also she needed care for her deformed feet. It seemed endless. But Sang-Ah endured the painful time with ongoing treatments.
After one year of the treatments, she gained her life back. Although the left front leg doesn’t really have much of a function, she is perfectly mobile, loving, sweet and healthy.
From the start of her existence, she had only known starvation, pain, neglect and fear. But she still approaches people with a wagging tail and sweet smile. She is fantastic with other dogs (all different sizes and personalities) and very affectionate to people.
Her brother, Sang-kook, has been adopted by a wonderful Canadian family last year. We really hope that Sang-Ah can find her forever loving home, too. This precious 2year old female Jindo mix deserves a happy life like any other dogs.
Sang-Kook, Sang-Ah’s brother, in Canada
Original Aricle by Haeng Dong Sa
English Translation by Eun-Bee Kwon
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