The human-animal bond is one that is obvious to anyone who’s ever been close to a pet, or indeed ever worked closely with animals.
We need them, they need us. Only through working together can we achieve the sort of harmony we all want to see in the world.
This includes taking care of one another and showing care and compassion to all creatures. Perhaps no group of people know this better than the veterinarians who dedicate their lives to helping sick and injured animals.
One such veterinarian in Georgia was moved to tears when a dog was brought into her surgery having been severely burned in a house fire.
The dog, a Shiba Inu named Taka, had been trapped inside a screened-in porch area when the house caught fire. As per The Dodo, the owners tried to save him, but were eventually forced to flee the burning building with him still trapped inside.
Somehow, the 8-year-old dog was able to escape, but not before sustaining serious burns. He was rushed to the Care More Animal Hospital in Martinez, Georgia, where Emily Martin works as a vet.
“He had burns around his eyes, his mouth, his ears, his belly,” Martin told The Dodo. “We really didn’t know how severe his injuries were initially, just because we had to worry about inhalation burns.”
She explained to WRDW the extent of his injuries. “I have not seen something to this degree happen before. It’s so severe it was the most helpless feeling ever. I didn’t know where to start so I kind of just froze crying until I could gather my thoughts.”
Martin set to work on treating the poor pup, and before long had formed a bond with him that went beyond mere professional capacity.
“I try to treat my patients all the same, but his case pulled at my heartstrings a bit more. When he came in, he was screaming from pain … but he calmed down the moment you sat with him and started singing to him.”
As the hospital is closed at night, Martinez took Taka home with her.
“I was up with him all night at my house, so the following day, we were both exhausted,” Martin said.
The next day, Martin decided to go the extra mile in an effort to provide Taka with some measure of comfort and security. She got in his cage and lay with him, a moment that was captured on camera by one of her co-workers.
“He doesn’t have a mean bone in his body,” Martin said. “A lot of times when animals are in pain, they’ll start biting just because they hurt, but he hasn’t once tried to bite. If anything, he’s comforted by people.”
Fortunately, thanks to all the love and care in the world, Taka was able to begin his recovery. “He went through something so traumatic and so painful, and yet he doesn’t give up,” Martin said at the time. “He’s so resilient.”
Taka was eventually adopted by one of the vet techs, Crystal Lesley, who took him to therapy dog training to help him comfort others who had been in his situation. His original family didn’t believe they would be able to give Taka the special care he would need moving forward, but Lesley was another at the animal hospital who had fallen in love with him.
Fast forward a few months and Lesley’s home became Taka’s forever home. Now, he’ll be given all the support he needs in his recovery moving forward, as well as being able to help others along the way.
Way to go, Taka, and a huge thank you to Emily Martin, Crystal Lesley and all the other heroes at Care More Animal Hospital.
Share this article on Facebook to wish this brave boy all the best moving forward.
