It is not unusual to see many stray dogs on the streets of Romania, but when colleagues of our partner organisation, Animal Society, spotted this little ball of fluff in the town of Slobozia, 120 km from Bucharest, they sensed she needed help. On closer inspection, this sweet elderly dog had severe face injuries. She had been hit extremely hard in the face, and following this her jaw was broken. She had no teeth left due to both being hit and her age, she needed help urgently. 

When approaching these situations, the team knows to approach with caution, when an animal has been so badly let down by humans - often their terror may cause them to flee. However, as the team approached this girl, it was as if she knew we were saving her and let our colleague take her in her arms. 

She was named Oiţã (meaning little sheep), and is around 8-9 years old. She was severely weak and anemic. With her injuries there was little to no possibility of her feeding herself for some time. When in the clinic, little Oiţã received tests to measure her vitals and an x-ray to decide the best option with her jaw. 

After everything that has happened to this small little girl, her rescuers say she has the character of an angel. One thing was clear -  no matter what is coming from a medical point of view, Oiţã will not be returned to the street. Either she stays in the Speranta shelter, or we will do everything to find a loving family, one that she has been looking for her whole life. 

Thesedays, Oiţã is a much loved member of the Speranta family! She has her own comfy throne together with a few of the other senior residents at the Speranta clinic. The vets at the clinic spend a lot of time with the little dog, and she gets lots of cuddles and attention from all of the team. Oita is still looking for the perfect home, unfortunately, it is hard for older dogs with disabilities to find loving families, but we are not giving up hope that she will find a wonderful retirement home in the local area.