Dallas Dog Rescue Rehab Reform specialized in helping – to put it bluntly – unwanted dogs.
“The ones that are more difficult. Those are kind of what our forte is,” Patti Dawson, the president of the non-profit, told WFAA News.
Dawson is now fostering Serenity, a husky with an invasive tumor on her face that was making it impossible for her to find a home.
The tumor has grown inside of her nasal cavity and even into her eye sockets, up to her skull. It’s left her face deformed.
“It’s basically taken away the bones of her face,” Dawson explained.
In the beginning, Dallas Dog RRR was simply helping the many street dogs of south Dallas, Texas. But over time, more people came to them with hard-to-place animals. Now, they’re the last resort for dogs no one wants.
Serenity came from a shelter in San Antonio.
“She went straight to an oncologist, to internal medicine and to a critical specialist to kind of do a complete workup,” Dawson told the local news.
The animal-lover bonded with the pup almost immediately – and despite her deformity, Serenity is full of love. And face boops!
“She gets up, leans in with this huge tumor and does this bump to me, like dogs do the bump, and kissed my face,” Dawson said. “At that point, I knew we were going to fight to the death to do what we could to save her because she had the life left in her.”
Sadly, there’s nothing to be done about the tumor.
But luckily, the sweet husky can see, breathe, and eat. And Dawson is committed to giving her all the love she deserves from here on out.
In order to show others just how much love “unwanted” animals have to give, Dawson set up a photoshoot for Serenity with animal photographer Renee Dowhaniuk.
Dowhaniuk takes photos for a few shelters in the area and was committed to capturing the dog’s spirit. And she was wildly impressed with just how much love and energy the dog had from the moment they met.
“That girl, as soon as we lifted her out of Patti’s vehicle and set her down, that nose was working and the tail was wagging,” Dowhaniuk told WFAA.
The beautiful photos of Serenity went viral immediately.
But, of course, some of the responses were cruel, with people insisting that the perfectly happy dog be euthanized and somehow put out of her misery.
Not gonna happen, says Dawson. Serenity has shown no signs of pain. And a person’s unwillingness to see a deformed animal does not make their life less valuable.
“She’s still in amazing spirits,” her foster mom assured fans.
If there comes a day when she’s clearly in pain, that’s different, of course.
“It’s kind of when she tells me it’s time, then we’ll make it as special as we can,” Dawson said.
Overall, the response to Serenity’s photoshoot has been overwhelming – but mostly positive.
“It has just been absolutely crazy,” Dawson said. “Once I respond to a message, I have twice as many new ones pop up.”
People have even been sending care packages to the sweet husky – she had received over 300 by August 10, 2020!
To learn more about Dallas Dog Rescue Rehab Reform, click here.
To see Serenity’s wishlist, send her a care package, or help care for another animal at the shelter, click here.
Be sure to scroll down below to see an interview with Dawson and Serenity – but be sure to have a tissue close by for this sweet story!
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Source: Dallas Dog RRR via Facebook, WFAA News
H/t: I Heart Dogs
