‘I Kind of Just Froze Crying’: Vet Sleeps in Kennel to Comfort Dog Burned in Fire

Photo courtesy of Care More Animal Hospital

WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT

A veterinarian in Georgia was moved to tears when a dog was brought in after being severely burned in a house fire.

A Shiba Inu dog named Taka was trapped inside a screened-in porch area when the house caught fire. The owners tried to save the dog but had to flee without him, reported The Dodo in October 2018.

Fortunately, the 8-year-old dog somehow managed to escape, and a neighbor took the severely burned pet to the Care More Animal Hospital in Martinez, Georgia.

Photo courtesy of Care More Animal Hospital

“He had burns around his eyes, his mouth, his ears, his belly,” Emily Martin, a vet at the hospital, told The Dodo. “We really didn’t know how severe his injuries were initially, just because we had to worry about inhalation burns.”

Martin told WRDW that when Taka first arrived, she and the hospital staff broke down in tears.

“I have not seen something to this degree happen before,” she told WRDW. “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.”

Photo courtesy of Care More Animal Hospital

While treating and caring for Taka, Martin soon found herself becoming attached to the poor pup.

“I try to treat my patients all the same, but his case pulled at my heartstrings a bit more,” Martin told The Dodo. “When he came in, he was screaming from pain … but he calmed down the moment you sat with him and started singing to him.”

Photo courtesy of Care More Animal Hospital

As the hospital closes at night, Martin took him home with her one night.

“I was up with him all night at my house, so the following day, we were both exhausted,” Martin said.

So, Martin decided to take a nap with Taka inside his cage at the hospital the next day. That moment was captured on camera by one of Martin’s co-workers.

Photo courtesy of Care More Animal Hospital

“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.”

With tender loving care from Martin and the staff, Taka has been recovering well.

“He went through something so traumatic and so painful, and yet he doesn’t give up,” Martin said. “He’s so resilient.”

However, what surprised Martin is the love that the community has shown to Taka by raising money for the hospital bill.

“For a dog to affect our community the way it has is incredible and he’s not just a dog, he’s special,” she told WRDW.