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Shot in the back and left to die - the amazing story of Zivka
the Macedonian street dog and her last appeal.
Yesterday, she went outside for the first time after four months. With her new “boots” (splints) on
her legs, a present from hew newly made FB friends from USA and Europe, she ran and ran in
the grass, rejoicing life. There was no stopping her. The sparkle was back in her eyes. She
made it!

Looking at her yesterday, a dream come true, I though how blessed I am to have her in my life.
She taught me so much, she changed me for better, she made me believe... when there is no
hope in sight. Zivka, just another stray dog to so many, was my inspiration... for life.

Now, there is the last promise we need to fulfill...that she will never see any pain, suffering and
cruelty again. That she will have a safe heaven filled with love she can call her home. We owe it
to her, we owe her the love and warmth and care she was deprived of. We owe her a life…
without fear.
 
We desperately need to find a home for Zivka. Adoption abroad is an acceptable option for us,
as the prospects of finding a home for her here are very bleak. She is going to be chipped and
vaccinated for rabies this week.

Let's find her a home together!
 
Help us fulfill that promise.
A street dog in Macedonia.

Zivka as she is known to some and Goldie as she is known to others:

Her story as told by one of her rescuers.

One sunny October morning, we received a phone call about an injured dog lying by some
railway tracks in one of the city’s residential areas. We often receive phone calls of this kind and
although we have very limited resources and no sheltering facilities whatsoever, we always rush
to the scene to do whatever we can, often improvise if necessary, to help.

This time was no exception. We didn’t know what to expect, as we rarely do following such
calls. We knew nothing about the dog’s size, condition, type of injury. We went and searched
the area for what seemed like eternity… nothing, not even a sound. “Maybe it is already dead",
we thought. "Maybe we are late".

Then, all of a sudden, we spotted her- Zivka. (we later gave her that name which means -willing
to live). As we approached, nothing could have prepared us for what we were about to see.
But she was so much more to us. She became our beacon of light. Her strength and will for life
made us humble in our own existence. She became a symbol of all that we were fighting for.
She made us not give up on her.

Four months passed from that day when we found her lying by the railway tracks. She went
through a lot during that time- numerous stressful visits to the vet, pressure wounds opening up
on her body as a result of her immobility, muscle atrophy. We worked hard, day after day,
without exception, to make her better. We treated the wounds, gave her daily massages to
strengthen her muscles and renew the nerves, held her to help her make just a few painful
steps. Each movement she made, each muscle twitch was a celebration to us. She was so
brave! Her resilience gave us the strength to continue... until she walked again!
WorldWise Animals
She was lying motionless in the undergrowth, so still as if given up in her pain and ready to die.

And the pain must have been horrific. Her legs were limp, her tail crushed and torn off. There was
a bullet hole in her spine, wounds on her head and body, worms crawling all over her.Somebody
had shot her and left her lying there, dying in agony.

What followed is a long and heartbreaking story to recovery. Nobody believed she could live,
they all said we should euthanize her and save her from her misery. All but one veterinarian, who
gave us a ray of hope that maybe, just maybe, she could eventually stand up on her left leg. We
followed that ray of hope, walked on thorns to make it happen…. we wanted so desperately to
give her back what had been so cruelly taken from her.

The first few days seemed pointless. From this perspective, I don't know what gave us the
resolve and strength to keep doing what we were doing.

The second day after we had found her, we were faced with a sight that brought us to the edge of
insanity. Her entire lower body was infected with worms. There were millions of them, coming
out of numberless holes on her body, literally eating her alive! It took us six hours to clean the
wounds and remove all the worms, one by one, until there was none left. And all that time she
was just lying there, looking at us with her dreamy eyes, as if surprised at our desire to help
her... just another stray dog.
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A
WorldWise Animals
A special thank you to the kind and
caring staff at Handicappedpets who
helped make sure we made the best
possible decisions for ZIVKA.

To everyone who made contributions
that enabled us to purchase the
supports - thank you. Zivka has her
freedom and mobility because of your
generosity.