Celebrating Be Kind to Animals Week - Sofia's Story Part Two

 Part Two (Part One here)



Sofia went with Gloria and a volunteer angel to see Dr. Mongil at the Centro de Especialistas Veterinarios de Puerto Rico for an orthopedic evaluation. We were all hoping Dr. Mongil would tell us he could fix her legs easily and she would be able to live a normal and pain free life. During her short time at our shelter everyone had grown quite attached to this little girl, and we wanted to give her a chance.

Dr. Mongil examined her and noted respiratory distress upon examination. X-rays were taken of her legs and her chest. Gloria waited with Sofia and was heartbroken, knowing in her heart that if something more was wrong that we may not be able to help Sofia.

The news was devastating to all of us - Sofia had a diaphragmatic hernia which was causing her respiratory issues. Dr. Mongil was fairly certain that all of Sofia's injuries were caused by the hands of a human due to the nature and location of her injuries.No one can imagine how a person could purposefully do something like this to this sweet little girl.

Gloria left with the volunteer, held Sofia and cried. She knew the Save a Sato was not going to be able to find the money quickly to pay for three surgeries to fix the injuries Sofia had suffered. Sofia simply licked the tears away, not knowing that Gloria was going to have to make a difficult decision.

Sofia, happy to have human companionship

Our motto (and the name of this blog) is "One sato at a time." We are all fully aware that we cannot save them all, but each dog that arrives at our shelter deserves and is given a second chance. Finances are always an issue, and the love and support of our donors is what sees us through difficult situations. We had a little money set aside for much needed shelter repairs, and we have an amazing donor that offered to help pay for Sofia's surgery. We were going to give Sofia every opportunity to be happy and healthy!

Sofia snuggles into Gloria

Just seven days after her consultation, Sofia went to Dr. Mongil for her first surgery to repair her hernia. She was on her way to being able to breath easier. And she would run again!

Stay tuned for the next part of Sofia's journey tomorrow!