Enzo

Thursday, April 29, 2021 was a difficult day for Enzo. He was dumped and left for dead outside an animal shelter. He was 3 to 4 months old, extremely malnourished, dehydrated and had a severely injured leg. To make matters worse, he had been attacked by another dog who had bitten him in the head. He was so weak that it was difficult for him to even move. The only good news in him dire situation was that, miraculously, he was still alive.

Monday, March 22, 2021 was a difficult day for me. I had been on cloud nine for 4 months in anticipation of having a baby. Everything changed on that fateful day as I had a miscarriage and lost the baby. I immediately went into a downward emotional spiral and started to suffer from depression. I decided to try to deal with it by investing my time into the lives of those even less fortunate than me. I have always loved animals and I was hoping that volunteering at a local animal shelter would help me deal with my sadness and my mind off of my own situation.

I was the first one to see Enzo after he was abandoned. I could see how much pain he was in and it broke my heart. The shelter where I was volunteering had never been able to afford to hire a Veterinarian on staff. So, I knew I needed to get Enzo the help he needed. Several of the shelter staff helped me load Enzo into my car and I drove him to the nearest veterinarian which was nearly an hour away. She treated Enzo with antibiotics to help him stave off any potential infection from his wounds. She x-rayed his leg and discovered that it was broken in two different places. They performed emergency surgery and placed a plate and several pins in Enzo’s leg. After 10 days of postoperative hospitalization, he was able to walk and gradually gained weight and slowly his health started to improve as he was gaining strength.

Enzo was in such a fragile state after the surgery and had a very long road to recovery ahead of him. I knew taking his back to the shelter wasn’t the right course of action. I knew he needed a quiet place where someone could help him around the clock with all of his needs, so I decided to take him to my home to help his recover. My initial plan was to take care of him for a few weeks to help him get through the most difficult and delicate part of his recovery and then take him to a foster family who could help him the rest of the way. I have two other dogs at home, so I didn’t think that keeping her long-term was an option.

I soon learned, however, that God had a different plan for me. I noticed how caring for Enzo helped me deal with my own depression. I was so focused on helping him that I didn’t have time to think about my own sadness. As time went by and Enzo continued to improve, I realized I couldn’t let him go. It has been a little over a year now since Enzo became a permanent part of my family. As I reflect back on the entire ordeal, I realize that I don’t really think I saved him…I think bringing him into my life and investing all of my time and effort into caring for him like I did, he truly saved me.