When Aya was just two months old, the puppy was trapped in her family’s burning home in Asheville, North Carolina.
Luckily, firefighters saw her wagging tail under a pile of clothes and got her out – but she was injured.
“When they went through she was in the last area of the house that anything could have survived,” her mom Dorothy Williams told her local ABC affiliate new station. “They found her under a pile of clothes, her tail wagged and when they brought her out she was unresponsive.”
But the little pitbull has come a long way since that fire four years ago.
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There was no guarantee she would make it or that it would be fair to continue her life if she was going to be in such pain.
The poor puppy suffered from burns over 75% of her body.
But she did make it – and now she’s thriving.
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At the time, her original family didn’t think it was wise to take her to the vet and planned to let her pass away. But a firefighter convinced them to get her some help, even if they didn’t keep her. And they did.
Aside from the thermal burns, she lost two toes. She needed extensive (and expensive!) care and went through quite a few surgeries to graft and grow new skin on her little body.
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The family – who, remember, had just lost their home – surrendered her to the Asheville Humane Society.
Her recovery took place at the Animal Hospital of North Asheville and the first phase lasted three months. In fact, Aya is still undergoing surgeries to this day.
But the little puppy never gave up – and her attitude made it impossible for veterinarians and her community to give up on her either.
She’s happy, rambunctious, and loves life!
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These days, her story helps raise money for the Asheville Humane Society so they can help other animals in need.
“She had quite a bit of trauma,” said Williams, who adopted the dog later. “They had to sedate her pretty much every day, change her bandages because it was so painful.”
But you’d never know the suffering she went through if you met Aya today.
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She certainly doesn’t let her special needs get in the way of her playtime!
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Williams believes Aya is an inspiration to others and a reason to believe in second chances.
“You can still have a great life, it’s just a little bit different life than you planned,” Williams said. “But you can still have a wonderful, full life, so second chances are really amazing.”
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Aya now has a loving home and a feline sibling – who she gets along with most of the time.
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Aya recently entered a contest to help special needs dogs by gathering votes for her heroic story and having a plush toy made in her image.
While another dog took the victory – a one-eyed pup who was found and rescued with a bullet in its head – Aya is still a winner in our book.
Scroll down below to see how she’s doing these days. It’s amazing to see how far she’s come!
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