Even though he had lost his sight and hearing due, to mistreatment by an owner all he truly craved was affection.
Joanna discovered her calling four years when she found a hedgehog in distress sharing a cage with another hedgehog in poor health. Male hedgehogs, like animals tend to fight when housed together. Banjan required care after having lost his ears in fights under his caregivers watch and being plagued by fleas and mites.
Over the months it took to nurse him to health, Joanna and her partner, Rory developed a passion for rescuing animals. Their efforts spanned furry, feathered and scaly creatures. Benefited local rescue organizations such as Doolittle’s Animal Rescue and Freshfield Animal Rescue in the UK. They’ve welcomed pets into their home for rehabilitation purposes—birds, ducks, cats dogs—. Faced setbacks, along the way.
Caring for animals remains at the forefront of their minds. While visiting Bulgaria they carried food to feed the stray animals they encountered along with homeless individuals. One of their lasting memories was saving a street dog from a highway.
He eventually joined them in the UK after being recommended as being, in health by a family in Bulgaria who worked with Doolittle’s Animal Rescue. Known as Shuck he is now. Content with his family.
While there is joy and fulfillment in rescuing and caring for animals it also brings moments of sadness. Joanna and Rorys recent foster animal has brought a mix of emotions.
They learned about Migoi from the family who cared for him after he was rescued from a life on the streets. Despite being young Migoi had endured abuse. He was kept outside as a “guard dog” on a chain in the cold resulting in stunted development due to malnutrition and lack of exercise. He was also subjected to abuse resulting in injuries that left him blind and deaf.
Maxim, a woman looks after Migoi. She is a caregiver who took care of over 40 dogs last year alone. Although a family in the UK had initially planned to adopt him they later changed their minds while waiting for his transfer citing his appearance, as the reason.
Without hesitation Joanna and Rory offered to adopt Migoi.
They understand that helping him recover and adapting to caring for a dog can present challenges. They are also aware of the opportunity to provide him with the affection he truly deserves.
While some dogs may exhibit behavior due, to mistreatment Migoi has shown that he is capable of receiving love. Joanna shared with iHeartDogs “Despite his hardships he is incredibly gentle and adores being around people.”
“It has been a demanding months nurturing his health and learning how to care for a blind dog. Ensuring his safety building his confidence and creating a comfortable environment. We set up barriers like baby gates to prevent him from accessing areas placed a fountain for easy water location and used scented candles, near water bowls as markers. We also mastered the art of signaling obstacles in his path.”
“The arduous task has been treating his eye condition; addressing the inflammation caused by eye damage required significant time and effort.”We recently found out that he also has detachment and glaucoma, in his eye indicating the need for its removal. This news hit us hard. It only fuels our determination to fight for his remaining eye. He is scheduled for surgery month—a procedure that could restore vision to one of his eyes and give back what someone else unjustly took away, from him.
Joanna and Rory went above. Beyond to help Migoi navigate their home despite his impairment. They successfully kept him safe ensured he received care but faced unexpected challenges they were unsure how to tackle. Luckily another family member stepped in to lend a hand.
“When we first met Migoi we were warned about his nature. Need for extra attention. True to form on the day he was bouncing off the walls. Making quite a ruckus. We couldn’t bear to leave him unattended for a moment…. As we got to know him we realized that’s just how he expresses stress.””He would tear up whenever something startled him or bark at any noises or dogs; it was always clear that his reaction stemmed from fear, not aggression.
One of the heart wrenching moments was realizing that he didn’t know how to play; he seemed puzzled by the toys we offered him and it wasn’t easy for us to explain it to him. That job belonged to Shuck…
Migoi being confident repaid the kindness by helping Shuck come out of his shell. Initially hesitant, around dogs Migoi put in a lot of effort. The breakthrough came during our dog walking sessions at the park. Once Migoi understood that all those dogs were friends with his brother Shuck he decided to make friends
Every time we take Migoi to the vet we bring Shuck along well. Their bond grew so strong that Shuck almost acts as a support dog for Migoi keeping him calm throughout.
Migoi will be part of our family without a doubt. We are terrible, at fostering. Can’t fathom giving away our baby boy!”
We are hopeful that the surgery will preserve one of his eyes which will boost his confidence. Once hes ready we plan to travel with him and Shuck to explore Europe.
It is our belief that Migoi should lead a life to any other dog enjoying freedom and companionship, with fellow furry friends. By helping him overcome confidence issues and teaching him commands for navigating obstacles we aim for him to live fully as a dog.
We don’t see his blindness as a barrier; just like any blind dog can thrive, so can Migoi. While it requires effort and vigilance to ensure his safety we see it as our responsibility as his caregivers.
Our boy has made progress in a few months but there is still a long journey ahead. We are committed to supporting him every step of the way on this path, towards recovery.
