The other day, Alexandra Sava, founder of Romanian dog rescue Sava’s Safe Haven, was cleaning kennels at the shelter when some of the resident dogs started barking. Sava got up to see what was going on and noticed that a car had pulled up outside the rescue facility.
The people in the car told Sava that they had a dog with them whom they wanted the shelter to take in. They explained that the dog had belonged to a family member of theirs who’d recently passed away, and neither of them could keep the pup.
Sava agreed to take a look at the dog, so the people in the car directed her to a white bag. The cloth bag was wrapped tightly around the pup, so Sava made it her first priority to get her as comfortable as possible.
“I made a little hole for the dog to breathe,” Sava told The Dodo.
Sava then quickly brought the pup inside her rescue facility. In the interest of the dog’s safety, she didn’t open the bag until she was in a secured room indoors.
“I entered the shelter because I was afraid to fully open the bag outside because the dog was traumatized, so I didn’t want to risk the dog escaping and just running away from me,” Sava said.
Unsurprisingly, given everything the pup had been through, she was feeling disoriented and nervous. She hardly moved as Sava and the rest of the staff did their best to set her at ease.
“The dog was very, very scared … She was shocked,” Sava said.
Based on the dog’s appearance, Sava assumed that she was a senior. A scan of the pup’s microchip revealed that she was, in fact, 9 years old, making her situation even more heartbreaking.
"[She] was a 9-year-old little old lady, terrified and confused," Sava's Safe Haven wrote on Facebook.
Luckily, despite the pup’s age and history, she didn’t have any major health issues. Once she’s spayed and vaccinated, she’ll be in good shape.
“She’s healthy,” Sava said. “She’s not a sick dog, but she’s very afraid in the shelter.”
Sava decided to name the pup Lica. For the past couple of days, Sava has been keeping Lica separated from the other dogs so that she can adjust to her new environment without getting too overwhelmed.
“It’ll take a few months for her because she needs to settle,” Sava said. “She needs to start to eat and drink normally and to find some peace in the shelter.”
Once some time passes, Sava is confident that Lica will become more comfortable and confident. There’s no doubt that once she’s ready, Lica will be adopted by a loving family and live the rest of her days in a happy, loving home.
