Woody, a July story from the heart

At Cooka’s we have been following the heart-aching story of little Woody. His saviour, Claudia is a true HERO, we are just amazed by her kindness, love and most all determination. No matter how hard things went, she fought on and on to give little Woody a beautiful future.

Claudia, this is a BIG PAWS UP from all of us to say thank you. You are a Hero and INSPIRATION.

 

How did you find Woodie?

On the 7th of March 2019, I was at work, like any other day. My coworker received a phone call from her mother saying that her dad ran over the neighbours dog. He went straight to the vet and was told that he needed surgery immediately. They put the little dog on a lot of painkillers and he took him back back to the owners and advised them that he needed surgery as soon as possible or he would die. The owners however refused to do it, because it was going to be too expensive. So they kept the poor doggie outside, tied to a chain, a life he always had lived, only at this point, with an exposed fracture and 2 broken legs (!). All of this I overheard on a phone conversation between my coworker and her mother and I was getting sick in my stomach, because I knew: NOBODY was going to do anything to save the dog.

So I told her to call her mother again and have her speak with the owners of the dog, to let them know that I was coming! I decided to go there and to grab him and never give him back and can you imagine, the owners agreed (happily!).

When I got out of work at midnight I went to pick him up. When I arrived there, he was sitting on a blanket, with his head down, creeped out, trembling with fear of these people. The owner said “be careful, he may bite you”.

I gave her that kind of look that made her keep quiet instantly and gently picked him up. He didn’t even fight or growl… he was just too exhausted and without any strength. I couldn’t take him to the vet right away because the only one available at such late hours is too expensive and wanted to be paid before even starting the surgery.

So I had to wait until the morning to take him to my vet. I stayed up all night with him, as he couldn’t lie down due to the pain and the bone popping out of his leg. During the night I gained his trust and he started to understand that I was not a threat and wouldn’t hurt him (he sure was beaten up by the previous owners). He was used to be left behind, so whenever I got up to get a glass of water or to go to the bathroom, he would crawl towards me, not wanting to be left alone. And then finally morning came and we rushed to my vet and he received the medical attention he needed.

 

Is there a special reason you named him Woodie?

I think this name is fun and it suits him perfectly!

 

What is the part about Woodie that touches you most?

Since day one, I’ve never seen Woodie sad (only when he was at the ex-owners house). He is such a happy pup, he always lets the vet do everything to him (and believe me, he had been trough a lot) without showing any signs of aggression. Only a wagging tail and puppy eyes asking for attention.

 

When Woodie needed medical assistance you did many online actions to create awareness and ask for help. How would you describe the response from the social media community?

I have to say that without Social Media, this wouldn’t have be possible. And I’m so sorry for always bugging everyone with giveaways, gofundme links, bandanas I make myself to sell and everything that I did and do to let them know Woodie’s life matters and he won’t be left behind again! Thank you everyone.

 

Woodie has already found a new home, thanks to your intensive work. Is he a happy doggie now?

He will go to his new home after his castration that is scheduled for July 23. On the next day I will take him to his home and we’ll recover with his new owner. But I’m pretty sure we will be the happiest he can be.

 

 

Will you go and visit him? After all, you are his godmother.

I’ve already talked about it with his future owner. He’s going to live in Oeiras and I live in Porto. So I wouldn’t be able to visit him as much as I wanted to, but I will certainly whenever I can.

 

You also have your own fur-kids (do you have one or two)?

I have two dogs. A 7 years old male and a 2 years old female.

 

Did you also rescue them?

Yes! Tin Tin was 1 month old when I went to pick him up. If not, he’d have been killed in his kennel. He was rescued by the association “Associação Patinhas Abandonadas de Vieira”.

Catita was born on the streets. She spent 4 months there, until she was rescued with her mother by the association “Animarco”. I brought her home a month later.

 

What do you love most about doggies?

Their ability to be 100% pure. It only takes a “shake it” to put the bad feelings behind them.

 

And which part is the most hard when being a dog mommy?

Knowing that no matter how much I give to them, it will never be enough nor it will be anything compared to what they give me everyday.

 

If you could describe Woody in 3 words, what would they be?

Warrior, unbreakable and grateful.

 

If Woody reads this now, what would he say to you?

We would just thank me like he always does ❤️

 

 

 

Claudia is currently trying to raise money for Woody’s sterilisation. If you would like to help, find out more on Instagram

@catitathecrazzymutt