Living on the streets eventually takes its toll. This abandoned dog lost all the fur on her face—leaving her skin with a stone-like appearance.
Petra, which is Greek for stone, knew the perils of living on the streets all too well. Without a home and love, animals are prone to diseases that could have been prevented or cured. Over time, they become mere shadows of themselves, slinking away, lonely, hurt, and tired.
Thankfully, in April 2015, a kindhearted Greek woman spotted 5-year-old mixed-breed dog Petra in Oropos, a small town a distance away from Athens, Greece.
Petra, with her terribly hardened face, was so emaciated that she looked like she was about to die.
Noticing her awful state, the woman snapped a photo of Petra and shared it on Facebook, hoping the right people would notice and provide the means needed to help this animal.
But rescuing Petra was not an easy task. After years of living on the streets, the dog was scared of anyone approaching her. She would run away whenever someone came near her.
Dog rehabilitator Valia Orfanidou happened to come across Petra’s photo on the shelter’s Facebook page and couldn’t get the poor dog off her mind.
“Petra suffered from ehrichia, leishmaniasis and mange – which is what had given her that ’turned to stone' look.”
However, when Orfanidou attempted to approach Petra at the shelter, the fearful dog hid in the bathroom in her cage.
“She never wanted to leave her cage; she would hide every time she was approached and growl at the other dogs at the shelter,” Orfanidou told The Dodo.
“I think she’s always been a stray because she looked like she had never been around people. Even dogs in that condition, if they’ve been around people are more friendly.”
Orfanidou never gave up. She tried approaching Petra again. And during the second attempt, it took her one hour to have the dog walk merely a few meters from her cage.
“She would make three or four steps, and then stop. I'd pull her slightly and then a few more steps,” Orfanidou recalled.
Time heals all wounds, and as time went by, Petra gained trust in her rescuers. She became bolder and healthier each week, leaving her cage and gradually becoming accustomed to interacting with people.
“She started wagging her tail and looked willing to play with us, her toys and the other dogs,” Orfanidou said.
Orfanidou’s efforts paid off when she saw Petra transformed into a beautiful and happy dog with a lot of love to give.
“I remember that day when I entered the shelter and saw her running around all happy and excited,” Orfanidou said. “She is confident, social, loving, and stable.”
With tender loving care, Petra grew a brand-new coat and was no longer the terrified, skinny, mange-ridden dog she used to be.
Rest in peace, Petra.
Kudos to Orfanidou and the shelter workers for patiently treating Petra’s wounds to relieve her suffering, giving her the chance to live a happy life before she breathed her last.
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