They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but even these pictures cannot describe what this poor dog had to go through in her first year of life. We found Lola in the small commune of Dobroiesti, nearby Bucharest, after being notified about her alarming condition. The large fluffy grey dog, barked relentlessly, her owner told us she had grown too large, and he no longer wanted her. The team at our partner organisation, Animal Society, decided to intervene and rushed to the scene.

For almost one year, nobody touched or interacted with her. The poor dog was tied to a 1.5-metre short-chain, in a dirty yard. She had never known the comfort and affection that every pet deserves. Lola was scared and in shock when the team came to rescue her. The tight chain had never been replaced with a bigger one and was already creating a deep and ugly wound on her neck.

After lots of encouragement and high-quality treats, Lola was able to be taken from the small yard which was her whole world to the clinic at Speranta shelter. She needed immediate care by the onsite veterinarians to remove the chain and wire embedded in her neck. As well as the emergency care, Lola was spayed, dewormed, and microchipped. Poor Lola had never known love, her emotional wounds are deep and her healing will be a long journey before she is able to trust people.

The scared girl held her tail between her legs and moved very slowly when people were around her. But after only a few weeks, Lola is already progressing and beginning to show us her beautiful personality beneath! Her dog neighbour at the shelter, State, is another soul with a sad and similar story to her own. Together, both the dogs have grown in confidence and now everyday they spend hours running and playing together at the shelter. She is adjusting well to her life at the shelter, and loves the training toys provided for her. Although Lola still has a long journey ahead of her to heal her emotional trauma, we hope eventually she will be well and comfortable enough to join a loving family where she will be loved and never look back on her bad past.

Sadly, Lola’s situation is not unique. Besides tirelessly rescuing dogs in need, we are also educating local communities on the basic needs and responsible ownership of pets, to make sure dogs like Lola receive the care and treatment they deserve.