Kelly was one of the watchdogs a farmer kept on his ranch. The farmer's business had been going downhill, so he sold the farm and abandoned the dogs. When the farmer's business was concluded, Kelly's suffering began.

Kelly was dumped in a village where most people were unfriendly to dogs. A sick, heartless person intentionally tied Kelly's muzzle tightly with two rubber bands to keep her mouth shut. Kelly would search for food, alert to her surroundings. A kind lady found Kelly and had noticed the severe flesh wound on Kelly's muzzle. As she approached Kelly trying to rescue her, Kelly would run away. The rescuer’s effort failed and her concern for Kelly grew.

The image of helpless Kelly and the thought of this little dog suffering was overpowering. Dreading to imagine the unbearable pain Kelly was enduring, the lady called the animal rescue team for help. It took them over seven hours to finally immobilize the dog and transport her to the hospital. The vet knew that this was a very abused dog. Kelly must have suffered for a long time, because the upper piece of the snout was almost gone.

Kelly went under treatment in the animal hospital. It took two weeks to get her wound healed. The rescuer visited her every day, petting, hugging and talking to her. "She is sweet, friendly and obedient and STILL trusts people," the rescuer noted.

When Kelly was sufficiently recovered, the animal rescue team contacted AHAN and asked us if we could help Kelly find a loving home in the U.S. We weren’t able to find a permanent home for Kelly, but we did find a foster home for her.

Alison, the foster mom, picked up Kelly at the airport and was shocked to see that Kelly’s whole snout was skinless, with her sinus cavity an open wound. The skin on the side of Kelly’s mouth was missing so her teeth were always exposed. Alison coaxed Kelly out of her kennel and was surprised that Kelly let her pick her up and carry her all the way to the car.

After a short while with Kelly, Alison realized that Kelly was breathing through the hole in her muzzle, and not through her nose. Dust, pollen, dirt and even grass would stick to the pink raw skin on Kelly’s face. She sneezed a lot because of the foreign objects getting into her nose and would shake her head so much it looked as if her nose would fall off. Worried about an infection, Alison took Kelly to UC Davis. In order to completely solve the problem, they had to do another surgery to sew back the loose flesh so that it would completely heal. The estimated cost was around $1,800.

We really wanted to help Kelly. So we sent out an SOS. We are very grateful that Liz from the On-Shore Foundation helped with part of the cost, and the company Alison works for will match her payment.

Kelly spent three days in the hospital recovering from her surgery. Because she had stitches on her mouth she couldn’t eat for several days. Once back home with Alison, Kelly ate soft dog food to protect the stitches on her mouth. Everyone at UC Davis met Kelly and thought she was a very special dog!

Now, almost a month after her surgery, Kelly has a scar across her muzzle and lips, but she has finally become a healthy dog again.

From a remote area where no one cared about Kelly, to being discovered by a kind-hearted rescuer; to Joseph from the animal rescue team and their volunteers, to AHAN stepping in to help find Kelly a loving foster-home, to Kelly flying across the country to be fostered by Alison; to undergoing a second surgery funded by many kind hearted people, a company and a foundation; to the present. And now, Kelly is finally ready for her permanent loving home.

Mary Crossley became the final destination to provide Kelly a forever home sweet home. Here is a part of an email we received from her:

I just wanted to let you know how grateful I am to you and your organization. Kelly is such a wonderful, loving and happy addition to my family. Everyday she becomes a little more confident, more "at ease" in her surroundings.

A lot of work and effort has been expended to help Kelly, but it was worth it. All our united effort enabled Kelly to have a new life, because every life is worth living!

All of us who participated in helping her have had our lives become more meaningful and rewarding. Even though we can't help all of the animals in need, every one that we can help makes a difference, and that's what keeps us going.

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BECAUSE WE CARE
 

	Kelly before.
	Kelly with rescuer Joseph from animal rescue team
	Kelly with foster mom Alison.
	Kelly with mom Mary.
	Kelly in her new home in the back yard.
	Kelly's first Christmas in her new home! ( 2006 )