01-01-15 On the last Sunday of October, a group of friends decided to spend the day pot-holing (the study and exploration of underground cave systems) in the various caves around the municipality of Tinajo (Lanzarote), when suddenly they heard the noise of something scrabbling in the earth. They decided to investigate where the noise was coming from and as they approached they lit up the cave without knowing what they were about to find. At a depth of 40 metres and in total darkness, they saw a pair of red eyes shining...it was a podenco! Without the slightest hesitation, with the equipment that they had to hand, they decided to descend to rescue the poor dog for whom they were the only chance of life. The dog could not stand or move and because of dehydration, he could not even bark. We will never know how long he had been down there. All we know is that he had been there for a minimum of several days without drinking, without eating, without moving...going through hell, but without giving in! With ropes wrapped around his shoulders, Toti attempted the rescue and descended the 40 metres until he was with the dog. Once there, with the equipment at hand and without knowing the physical state of the dog, Toti tied him to his body and began the ascent... It was a difficult ascent because although the podenco was very thin, he is a very large dog and to manage the height without falling, which could have caused the death of the dog and his rescuer was not an easy task. But he had the support of his group who helped him get to the top and it was a happy ending. And it was a very happy ending! After 2 very long hours of ascent, he managed to get to the top where his friends were waiting for him. They took the podenco from him and in honour of his rescuer they named him Toti. Here you can see the video of his rescue: youtu.be/F45qpUfiukg Once they had him safe, they brought the poor suffering podenco to the shelter, where our veterinary team examined him and saw that her body was covered with wounds from the fall and one of his legs was broken in various places. Here is Toti’s arrival at Sara: Here you can see the x-rays from when he arrived at Sara, with his leg broken in various places: And the beginning of his operations where we had to use steel to mend his leg: Now Toti has had his operation and it was a success: Two months have passed since his first operation, but despite it being a success, he has not progressed well and again he will need more surgery. But Toti has shown us what a fighter he is and he is not giving up and neither are we. So Toti had another operation on 20th December 2014, which was successful and we hope that this will be his last. Toti after his second operation: And this Christmas 2014, Toti received a visit from his rescuer, giving him the strength to continue his fight and not give in: This is the wonderful story of a beautiful podenco, a breed which is abused and forgotten. At this time, more than half of the dogs we have waiting for a home are podencos. Many arrive after being mistreated and others just abandoned. They wait for years and years for a home which will treat them with dignity and respect. Hopefully, after Toti’s battle, he will find a home soon and have his happy ending. And at Sara we cannot find the words to thank this group of people who fought for the life of a dog without any hesitation, saving his life and ending the terrible state he was suffering
Posted on: Sun, 11 Jan 2015 20:54:58 +0000
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