In October 2014 Maria from the Ville Shelter in Bacau Romania found a little dog helpless & starving dragging his tiny frail body around. Desperate for food having not eaten or been able to find even a crust of stale bread to sustain him.

Arty, we know, was beaten on the spine with a heavy object, probably to end his life as he was no longer wanted by his family. Initially we thought he had been hit by a vehicle, which is the fate of many dogs in Romania.

He was taken to the shelter of the Ville, but it became quickly apparent that this was not the ideal shelter to meet his needs, due to its open status. He needed special care and good nutrition to build his tiny frail body, which now weighed only 2.1 kgs, and was suffering from extensive muscle wastage.

So Arty’s journey began.  He set out on the 5 hour journey from Bacau to Bucharest  to meet a transport which was taking rescue dogs to the UK, for an internal transport to a City called Arad.  The last major cities in Western Romania.

There Arty met one of our preferred superb vets, Dr Veterinarian Claudiu Isiom & his wife (also a qualified veterinarian) and became a patient in their care & evaluations and x-rays were carried out to establish the damage to his spine and if a surgical procedure, followed by rehabilitation & time with a very special, caring family with untold patience, would improve his quality of life. Arty arrived after an 11 hour Journey from Bucharest to Arad & was welcomed at the clinic & within 48 hours some of that cheeky personality that we all came to love started to show, with the teeth grinding when he was excited & that naughty boy smile that always captures people’s hearts. A series of x-rays were taken to evaluate the spinal damage between L3-L5. After the team discussed the case, they decided that he had more than a 60% chance of success, however the biggest risk was whether he would be able to undergo a lengthy anaesthetic with such a body of only 2.1kgs. A difficult decision to make, as the longer the surgery was postponed the more calcified the damage would become & the more likely it would be that the nerves would not repair.  It was decided that Arty would undergo the procedure at the first available operating schedule that the team were able to organise.

Operation day arrived & Arty, brave boy that he is, took all in his stride.  Once the surgery was completed he came round &, from that moment, has not looked back.  He gained weight daily and his amazing character grew & developed into the cheeky chap he is today, loving life in England with so much to enjoy & people to meet & places to visit ~

His story is one that touches hearts & also demonstrates the courage & determination by Arty, as well as his support team to raise the funding for his surgery, for the after care and for his transport to the United Kingdom.  This is the true meaning of “rescue” & the achievements of team work. Every Picture tells a story & the photographs show his journey from despair to forever.