Dog Who Only Knew Abuse Now Has Unconditional Love
He still wanted to be loved, even after his vision and ears were taken away by a cruel owner.
Joanna found her calling four years ago when she grabbed a hedgehog who was in bad physical condition and was kept in a cage with another male hedgehog. If two male hedgehogs are placed together, they will fight, just like any other male mammal. Banjan required attention because he had lost his ears due to fighting with his prior owner and was infested with fleas and mites.
Joanna and her spouse, Rory, were obsessed with animal rescue during the months it took to nurture him back to health. Several of their local rescues benefit from their work with furry, feathery, and scaled creatures, including Doolittle’s Animal Rescue and Freshfield Animal Rescue in the United Kingdom. 2 I’ve tried multiple times to adopt several pets in need, including birds, ducks, cats, and dogs, and each time I’ve failed.
They are concerned about the well-being of their pets. The pair carried pet food with them to Bulgaria to feed the vast number of stray and homeless persons they encountered. A skinny street puppy they rescued from a busy highway served as their souvenir. After being noted to be in good health by a British family working with Doolittle’s Animal Rescue in Bulgaria, he later joined them in the UK. Shuck, as he was given the name, is now healthy and content in his new home.
Although rescuing and fostering animals can bring a lot of joy and happiness, it can also bring a lot of grief. It’s all been accompanied by Joanna and Rory’s newest foster.
They learned about Migoi from a Bulgarian family that took him in after he recovered from his roaming life. Migoi had been subjected to horrible, unthinkable maltreatment when only a puppy. He was kept on a short chain outside in the cold as a “watch dog.” When he was rescued, he was undeveloped for his age due to starvation and lack of activity, had been abused, and his sadistic owner had taken away his ears and vision.
Migoi is looked for by Maxim, a Bulgarian lady. She is a seasoned foster parent who has cared for over 40 pets in the past year. He had a family lined up to adopt him in the United Kingdom, but while waiting to be transported, they changed their minds, stating he was “too ugly.”
Joanna and Rory were quick to offer him up for adoption. They recognize that restoring his health and learning to care for a blind dog will be difficult, but they also see that they may be able to provide him with the affection he deserves.
Though some dogs would be wary of people after being subjected to abuse, Migoi has the potential to be loved! “Despite all of that, he’s the loveliest boy, absolutely crazy with people,” Joanna tells iHeartDogs.
“It’s been a difficult few months trying to nurse him back to health and figure out how to care for a blind dog, how to protect him, and how to help him acquire confidence.” We put up a baby gate to keep him away from the stairs, the house, and anything else that might obstruct him or put him in danger. We purchased him a fountain so he could hear where the water was coming from, and we placed scented candles around each of the other water bowls in the house. We figured a how to let him know there was a stumbling block in the way.”
“The struggle for his eyes has been the most difficult of all; it needed a lot of your time to keep the significant eye irritation caused by the damage to his eyes under control. We recently discovered that he has retina detachment and glaucoma in his right eye, implying that we must remove it. This is a devastating setback, but it only motivates us to fight for his second eye, which is slated for surgery next month. A operation that would restore eyesight to at least one of his eyes and allow him to reclaim what another else determined was necessary far away from him.”
Even though Migoi couldn’t see, Joanna and Rory did everything they could to give him the confidence to go around their house. They were successful in keeping him safe and getting him the medical attention he need, but there were additional obstacles they didn’t anticipate and weren’t sure how to address. Fortunately, another relative stepped in to assist.
“We were advised before Migoi arrived that he was a lively boy who required special attention. On the first day, he was on the verge of bouncing off the wall because he made so much noise. We were too concerned to leave him alone for a moment… We only needed to know him on one occasion, and we noticed that’s how he exhibits he’s stressed.
“One of the saddest things was learning that he didn’t know how to play; he had no idea what to use with the toys we gave him, but it wasn’t us who were willing to explain it; it was Shuck…”
Migoi repays the favor by assisting Shuck in breaking free from his shell. Migu worked hard and confidently at first, despite his fear of other dogs… Our dog walking club in the park was responsible for the first breakthrough. When Migoi saw that all of those dogs were friends with his older brother Shuck, he resolved to make friends with them as well.”
“We always bring Shuck to the vet with us when we take Migoi to the vet.” Their attachment has grown so deep that he acts as Migoi’s support dog, keeping him calm during the ordeal.
“There’s no doubt that Migoi will always be with us. We are terrible foster parents and can’t imagine giving up our newborn boy! We are hopeful that the surgery will save one of his eyes, which will boost his confidence. We’re going to take him backpacking through Europe with Shuck once he’s ready.”
“We are convinced that Migoi should be able to have a life that is comparable to that of other dogs, that he should be able to run free and compete with other doggos. Working through his self-confidence issues and teaching him obstacle commands has allowed him to become that dog.”
“We don’t believe his blindness should limit him in any way, just like it doesn’t limit the other blind dogs… Any dog, if Migoi can roll in the hay, can roll in the hay as well. It’s more difficult and time-consuming to keep him safe, but that’s our job as his parents.
“Our kid has come a long way in a few months, and he still has a long way to go, but we’ll be there to support him every step of the way.”
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