A nine-year-old Shiba Inu named Taka was peacefully resting at his home in Georgia with the rest of his family when an unexpected fire woke them up. The vicious fire spread across the home and while the whole family was able to flee just in time, Taka was trapped on their porch. Luckily, he was successfully able to break free and ran away from the raging flames.
But Taka did not escape without serious burn injuries. And so, as soon as he was safe, a kind neighbor rushed him to the Care More Animal hospital. Upon examination, they discovered that Taka sustained severe burns to his eyes, mouth, ears, as well as his abdomen. The whole treatment would be very expensive and since his owners couldn’t afford it, they surrendered him to the hospital.
His doctor, Dr. Emily Martin, and the rest of the staff welcomed him warmly. He was such a loveable dog and everyone fell in love with him almost immediately. To help him recover, Dr. Martin would bring him home every night to make sure he gets the care he needs and of course, some love. Thankfully, after several weeks, Taka was finally ready to get to his foster home where he would continue the rest of his recovery.
One of the vet techs in the hospital, Chrystal Lesley, stepped in to be Taka’s foster mom. She helped him through his recovery and while he didn’t make a lot of dog friends, he definitely loved being around humans. That was how Chrystal got the idea to train him as a therapy dog. She then officially adopted Taka and enrolled him in the Canine Training Project.
Soon after completing the program, she decided that as a burn survivor he would be best equipped to be a therapy dog for other burn victims as well. Taka successfully passed the course and has since been doing a good job in comforting burn patients.
Taka may have had a painful experience but he thrived with all the love and support that he received and now, he is giving all of that back.
Source: Pet Rescue Report
