This is Cara’s story

She always turns more to the left to look straight into your eyes. It is just her way to keep a closer eye on you, just in case, until she figures out if you are a good person or not. And the saying “keep an eye on you” is describing the reality in Cara’s case, as she has only one eye.

Her story is sad, really terrible and describes this World in which we all are trying to survive every day, without getting “wounded” too many times.

Cara learn what really means to be a mom the moment she felt her babies inside her belly, or when she was searching and searching for the best hidden where to give birth, away from people or other dogs’ possible attacks. She felt what means to be a mom when she smelt and kissed her two babies for the first time, the joy of seeing them happy and relaxed sleeping under her protective body, the mixed feelings of pride, happiness and worries she felt when they started to walk and move away from her, every day a bit more, exploring.

It didn’t pass long until Cara experienced two of the most painful moments of her life. As a stray life is not easy or safe. One time, she went hunting very early in the morning, to be back “home” in time before the puppies start crying to be fed. Hunting is not an easy job, especially when she has to do things in a hurry but being careful to watch her back.

While dogs are tamed animals, fed by people for centuries, strays and semi-wild dogs must hunt to survive. At the edge of the roads, you will see dogs eating dead corps or chasing smaller wild animals. On industrial sites, you can see strays eating almost everything, including plastic bags from the trash that used to contain workers’ meals. I have seen a dog eating the leather side of a used shoe thrown in the bin.

The luckiest strays are the ones roaming in towns or larger villages, where the trash collected contains a “variety” of rest of meals which instantly become a source of food for them.

Cara has hidden her puppies in some bushes, in the vicinity of a train rail that connects the main train station with the steel plant station. Returning to the spot, after some delay, her heart was beating faster. It wasn’t only because of the effort, or because she was too weak to run like she used to – she start feeling an increasing worry which turned into panic when she couldn’t smell, feel, and see her babies. She arrived right to the spot where her babies were sleeping peacefully a few hours ago. They were gone. She starts moving in circles, larger every time. When she sniffed something familiar, went closer and her eyes went into tears: her babies were lying drawn in a plastic bag, now opened.

Probably they tried to escape from the bag until the last moment. But they were too small and too inexperienced to succeed. Cara felt the pain that every mother would feel. It was the hardest pain she ever felt in her life: emptiness, sadness and rage against those who killed her babies, the humans.

For a moment, she wanted to go back to the hidden spot. She realized there is no reason to go there anymore. Her puppies already paid the price. She looked at them one more time and with their smell still fresh on her nose, she started to search for the human who did that …If people call this “revenge”, she doesn’t care. Animal’s Kingdom is different and its rules are different.

She was sniffing, climbing, and running on the field which grew as far as she could see. The only image she could see was her innocent babies dead. With her paws hurt in the metallic waste, she keeps on running, more afraid that the scent traces will vanish.

Hearing a whizzing behind, she turned quickly, surprised. Immediately she felt like sand in her right eye. Then something on her cheek. She tried to keep running and only then, she realized she can’t see straight. Everything happened in a few seconds. Only when she stopped, she felt a pain in the right eye that increased. Soon, it became excruciating, but a different kind of pain compared with the one she felt in the morning, seeing her puppies killed.

She stopped to yell in her own language and to cry with the remained eye, louder – from her wounded heart. This is how our rescue team found Cara a few days later. The workers from the industrial site phoned us about a dog that cried day and night, probably being wounded.

While stray’s primary instincts are to hide, if wounded, to avoid confrontations, and to protect themselves from being exposed – Cara simply gave up living that day. It happened for us, also, sometimes – to want to give up, even for a short while. It’s a humane feeling. Dogs have humane feelings, too.

Cara never found the person/s that killed her innocent babies. There are thousands of puppies killed in Romania: being poisoned, drawn in water, etc Some are dying of diseases that could be so easily prevented with a simple vaccine. Many of the surviving puppies are frightened of people, scared to be sociable, and vulnerable. The price of an annual vaccine is almost 5 EUR.

Cara will never have puppies again. Thanks to our compassionate supporters, we sterilized her. It cost only 26 EUR. Her lost puppies were the last ones to pay the price for humans’ indifference, ignorance and barbaric behavior.

Cara lost eye remained a scar that heals every day more. She will remain from now on disabled physically, visible. Still, she can handle it perfectly so in case you don’t search for the perfect-looking dog – she is a good candidate for adoption, being sensible and grateful. In a way, she looks perfect – the beauty stays in the way you look at her.

Cara’s story moves anyone that still has a soul to care, to be compassionate and feel empathy for such tragedies that often happen under our eyes. Tragedies created by members of our own species. After meeting the “human specie”, Cara’s emotional scars remained. By far, those are the most difficult to treat, anticipate and handle, day after day.

There will be days in Cara’s life, when she will not be happy, smiling even if she is now away from danger and treated with respect and gentleness. Maybe thanks to you, she will have a home. There will be moments when she will hear or smell other puppies and her remained eye will cry her heart’s sadness. She can’t speak to tell everyone her story, but are we strong enough to listen to stories like hers day after day, on and on ….and turn blind and deaf?

I was nervous when Cara met a stranger at the shelter for the first time after her tragedy. She proves to be just the dog that turns more to the left to keep an eye on you. This is how she can judge better if you are a good person or not. For a dog, sight is precious for survival. Cara turns to you to see your good side. Like her, I am convinced most of us have hidden a drop of humanity, like a treasure – under the shield that protects us from suffering or showing off our weakness.

Imagine 600 pairs plus one dog’s eyes looking straight into your eyes and begging for understanding, compassion, patience and commitment. What is your answer?

Together, I know we can save each dog at a time…

Please see the other dogs that need your help or a home