Sean McCormack is a kindhearted animal lover who has devoted his life to saving creatures who need help. McCormack founded Animals Taiwan, a Taipei-based rescue organization. Whenever he hears about an animal in need, he always does everything he can to help.
In March 2018, a woman sent McCormack a photo of a stray dog lying in a metal kiln outside a guest house in Tarako National Park.
The woman told McCormack she had spotted the one-year-old dog while she was on vacation, and he was badly injured. He had lost his right front paw in a trap, and his front left leg had a serious snare injury. The woman worried that the dog wouldn’t make it much longer, and she hoped McCormack would help him.
“There’s a big problem in Taiwan with traps and snares,” McCormack told The Dodo. “Most of our rescues are dogs who have been maimed by one of these devices.”
McCormack immediately started making plans to rescue the dog, who he later named Sandy.
He looked for directions on Google, and at first, he thought he could drive up to the guest house and collect the dog. But after doing more research, he realized there wasn’t a road. The only option was a steep hike through the mountains. It would take six hours to hike up to the guest house and six hours to hike back down.
McCormack didn’t hike often, and so he knew he needed help. He reached out to his friend Ross Tweedie, the co-owner of Taiwan Adventures. Tweedie agreed to come along.
“It’s a brutal hike,” Tweedie said. “It’s not one for beginners, and Sean was in the beginner category. He told me that he hadn’t done anything like that before.”
Even though the hike was going to be challenging, McCormack didn’t let that stop him. Early one morning, he and Tweedie set off into the mountains.
The hike was extremely difficult, and McCormack considered giving up, but he kept Sandy in mind and made it through. But then, when Tweedie and McCormack reached the guest house, they immediately encountered another problem: they couldn’t find Sandy.
They looked all around the guest house, checking under every surface. Finally, they reached a stack of chairs. Underneath, they saw the little dog wagging his tail. The dog came out to greet Tweedie and McCormack. Even though he had been through so much, he was still incredibly friendly.
“He came and put his head on my lap, and he was just looking like he wanted a hug,” McCormack said.
Sandy’s left leg was in bad shape—the snare had left a huge wound, and McCormack could even see the dog’s bone. McCormack bandaged the wound as best he could, but he knew he needed to get the dog to a veternarian immediately. And so, McCormack put him in his backpack, and they started trekking back down.
McCormack and Tweedie took turns carrying the dog in their packs. He didn’t make a sound the entire way down the mountain.
At the bottom of the mountain, McCormack and Tweedie brought Sandy to the nearest vet. The vet amputated portions of the dog’s front legs, saving his life. Once his legs heal, the vet will fit him for prosthetics.
A man saw Sandy’s story on social media, and he immediately fell in love with the dog and asked to adopt him. And so, once Sandy was healed, he went to his new forever home!
McCormack and Tweedie are both so happy that Sandy has found such a great home.
“It all came together,” Tweedie said. “There were so many things that could have gone wrong, but it didn’t. It was very much worth every second and every pound of sweat.”
After being on his own for so long, Sandy now has a wonderful home. And it’s all thanks to two men who refused to give up on a little dog!
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