An emotional first meeting
The first time I saw her, I knew I had to take her out of the shelter for immediate medical care. I also knew the day would be filled with heavy feelings. She was a big girl with a soft face and the kind of eyes that ask for a hug before they ask for food. When I sat on the floor beside her, she pressed her weight into my chest as if we had been friends forever. She craved affection and reassurance even while she was in obvious pain. That contradiction is one of the great lessons dogs teach us. We need love as much as we need food and water, and dogs prove it every day.
She leaned into my arms, wincing when she moved. I stroked her head and told her the truth. I am sorry this happened. You did not deserve it. We will figure it out together. In moments like this I have to take slow breaths. The work is not easy. It never is. It is the kind of work that can leave you weeping on the side of the highway and then driving to the next rescue anyway.
The story behind the wound
To understand how she ended up here, the shelter team brought in Alexis to walk us through the case. The young dog had arrived the previous night, around 7 or 8 in the evening, through the shelter’s night drop. A couple carried her from their car, dragged her gently when she froze with fear, then placed her inside. The security camera footage showed two details that mattered. First, they removed her collar before leaving. Second, they wrote down false names on the night drop form and claimed they had found a stray. Both actions are serious. Filing false information is a crime. Removing a collar can be a deliberate attempt to erase identity.
What they did not realize was that the dog was chipped. The next morning, when the shelter scanned her, the chip told a story the couple had tried to hide. When contacted, the listed owner claimed the dog had been missing for more than thirty days. Yet when they came into the shelter, staff recognized them as the same people from the night drop video. The lie had grown and twisted on itself, as lies do, until there was nowhere else to go but the truth. They admitted they had brought her in, claimed she was a stray, and signed a false name.
Then came the most painful part of the account. The staff revealed what had been covering the injury. Under a sweatshirt and a dog shirt, masking tape had been wrapped around a ragged layer of fabric pressed against the wound. The shirt was filthy and the tape was not medical. It had been there to keep her from licking the injury, but it also kept real care from reaching it. When the team removed the layers, they saw an open area that looked far older than two days. The staff guessed it had begun as a small lesion that expanded as she chewed and scratched at it, without proper veterinary treatment. The wound was large enough to put her life at risk from infection or worse.
What shelters can and cannot do
Alexis explained the practical realities. Many shelters do not have an on site veterinarian every day. Veterinary care is expensive, and experienced vets are in short supply. Staff will do everything they can with the resources they have, often relying on vet techs, assistants, and a health team that can triage, medicate, and stabilize. This shelter’s team had already begun that process. They started pain medication, antibiotics, careful cleaning, clipping of fur around the wound, and proper bandaging. Even with that progress, the dog would need a full surgical repair and close follow up.
I looked into her eyes while she pawed gently at my glove and tried to play despite the discomfort. Hope rose in me with every tail wag, but experience whispered caution. Dogs with chronic open wounds can decline quickly. Infection and hidden complications can turn on a dime. We guard our hearts because we have to, but we refuse to turn them to stone. The only honest path is to acknowledge the risk and choose to love anyway.
Choosing action and building a plan
The next steps came into focus. First, secure legal clarity and ownership so we could manage her care without delay. The couple surrendered the dog, which allowed us to move quickly. Second, get her to a trusted partner for medical stabilization and surgical planning. I called friends at Rancho Coastal Humane Society in Encinitas, a community focused organization that had recently opened a modern clinic with a strong medical team. They wanted to help but needed funding support to cover the cost of intensive care.
I committed to covering the core veterinary costs and invited the community to join the effort. One hundred percent of donated funds would go directly to the shelter for her rehabilitation, with any surplus used to help other dogs in need at Rancho Coastal Humane Society. None of it would come to me. Transparency matters. So does momentum. If we could stabilize her now, we could save her life.
Third, I wanted a safe place for her to recover after surgery. That is what Flip Farm is for. It is a quiet rehabilitation farm where dogs can rest, decompress, and rebuild confidence with time and patience. I called the team and got the approval we needed. When she heals enough to travel, she will have a bed waiting and a field to explore at her own pace.
A name, a promise, and a ride to safety
The shelter had a name on file, but when I tried it, she did not respond. Names carry chapters. Sometimes, when you want a new chapter, you choose a new name. I asked for suggestions from the community because this journey would be a shared one. While we waited for transport, I fed her a few treats and told her what comes next. We are going to lift you gently onto a gurney. We are going to the clinic. You will meet new people who will treat your pain, clean your wound, and protect you while you sleep. You are safe now. From here on out, no one will let you down.
The staff gathered, lifted her with care, and secured her for the ride. Even with a cone and fresh bandages, she wagged when we spoke softly. That spirit matters. A willing heart helps carry a body through hard medicine.
Arrival at the medical center
At Rancho Coastal Humane Society’s medical center, Dr. Maize and her team evaluated the wound and laid out a careful plan. There was a tremendous amount of skin missing, far too much for quick closure. Before attempting any reconstruction, they needed two to three days to reduce contamination, control pain, and confirm there was no underlying infection that would compromise surgery. During bandage changes they used distractions like cream cheese because the process stings and tugs. The dog tolerated it bravely, leaning on kindness the way a climber leans on a rope.
An interesting note emerged during the exam. The team believed she might be younger than two years old. Her playfulness, even in pain, suggested a pup just past adolescence. Youth can be an advantage during recovery. Tissue heals faster. Energy returns more quickly. Confidence renews with routine and affection.
How rescues and shelters work together
People often ask how shelters and rescues fit together. Shelters are typically municipal or large nonprofit organizations that take in animals from many sources, maintain public services, and manage space, staff, and policy constraints. Rescues are often smaller groups or individuals who plug into the system to solve specific problems, such as pulling a medical case that needs focused fundraising and long term attention. In this story, Animal Friends of the Valleys provided intake, scanning, stabilization, and the transparency to share the truth. Rancho Coastal Humane Society provided clinical capacity. The rescue community provided logistics, funding, and a promise of a rehabilitation home. Many hands make a path where none existed before.
A plea for empathy and responsibility
There is a hard lesson in the night drop video. Night drop exists to provide a safe place for animals found after hours. It is not meant for an owner surrender that hides the facts. If you are overwhelmed by a medical crisis with your pet, come to the shelter during the day, call animal control, or ask for help. You may feel ashamed or afraid, especially when finances are tight and treatment is expensive. Ask anyway. Honesty gives a dog a chance. Secrecy takes it away.
I try to hold empathy for the couple while still naming the harm. Maybe they felt desperate. Maybe they thought the tape and shirt were better than nothing. But the right choice would have been to walk in and say the words that save lives. We need help. We cannot afford this. We do not know what to do. When we face the truth, a community can respond.
The path forward
Over the next days, the clinic team will monitor her closely, manage pain, and prepare the wound bed for surgery. When all signs point in the right direction, Dr. Maize will determine the best method to close the area. It may require advanced suturing, staged procedures, or creative use of healthy skin to bridge the distance. After surgery, she will rest, regain strength, and relearn the comfort of a routine. When she is ready, she will move to the farm to complete her rehabilitation in a quiet environment with patient handlers, calm companions, and fields that smell like second chances.
I cannot promise the outcome. No one can. Hidden complications sometimes appear when the body begins to repair itself. But I can promise the process. She will not be alone. She will receive the care she needs, step by careful step, with professionals who treat her like family and a community that refuses to look away.
Why this moment matters
There is a reason the moment I met her changed my day. It is the same reason this story reaches people who have never set foot in a shelter. Love is not a soft word here. It is a decision to act. It is the quiet work of lifting a heavy dog onto a gurney. It is a donation that covers bandages and antibiotics. It is a shared post that finds a future adopter who can welcome a large, playful dog into a home that is ready. Love is the promise we keep when the camera is off and the hallway is empty.
As I left the clinic, I told her what I tell many dogs at the start of a hard road. You do not know it yet, but you have a whole army now. We will walk this with you. There will be hard days. There will be breakthroughs. There will be a morning when the bandage comes off for the last time and the skin underneath looks like a map of survival. On that morning, you will take a deep breath and chase a toy across the grass because your body finally lets you. And when the sun sets, you will sleep the kind of sleep that belongs to a dog who is safe.
Join the story
If you can give, your help goes directly to her medical care, with any remainder used for other dogs in urgent need at Rancho Coastal Humane Society. If you cannot donate, you can still be part of this story by sharing it, following her updates, and helping us find the right adopter when the time comes. A rescue is never a solo act. It is a chorus. Today, you are part of the music.
In the end, this is the moment I knew I had to take her. Not because I wanted another case. Not because the video would be compelling. Because when I sat on the floor and felt her lean into me, I saw a life that still believed in people. That faith deserved an answer, and together we are going to give it.
