BrightHaven News

The Wonder of it All

December 27, 2011

Featured in Best Friends Magazine

November 16, 2011, 11:41AM MT

By Lorraine Lannoye, Best Friends Network volunteer

Paralyzed pup from the streets of Taiwan finds sanctuary in Sonoma County. “Can you help us?” This is a plea that animal rescuers and sanctuaries hear all too often. This time was different, though. The heartfelt plea came from almost 7,000 miles away. Two teachers from Taiwan, who spend all of their spare time and money to help rescue stray animals from the streets and alleys of Taiwan, were now reaching out across the ocean for additional help. Their letter contained the following details: A young puppy, abandoned by his people and living as a stray in the streets, was hit by a car and left to die. He survived long enough to catch the attention of a small factory owner. The owner took pity on the now paralyzed puppy, and placed him in a cardboard box at the back of his business. He did not seek vet care for the puppy. The box was simply changed when waste matter piled up. It was in this box that the two teachers, Hzi and Fox, first met the pup. Hzi and Fox took the puppy to three different vets, who all confirmed that his hindquarters were permanently paralyzed — he would never run, play, or walk again, as well as being incontinent. Knowing the chances of adopting out this type of dog in Taiwan were very slim, Hzi and Fox resigned themselves to give him lots of love, food, a clean bed, and then let him sleep peacefully … forever. Yet, they also gave him a name: Wonder. To “wonder” about the life he might have had if he hadn’t been abandoned, “wonder” about the use of his hind legs if he had been taken to a vet right away, and “wonder” simply because he was still a puppy, with all the “wonder” in his eyes when he looked up at them. Just before they decided to let him go, they heard that the chances of finding him a home in the U.S were much greater than in Taiwan. And so their letter for help came to be in the hands of Gail and Richard Pope, founders of BrightHaven, a small, holistic sanctuary in Sonoma County that specializes in animal hospice, senior animals, and special-needs animals. Gail created a flyer for Wonder, and circulated his story among her large network of supporters, confident that someone would offer the sweet puppy a new forever home. Sadly, that didn’t happen. After some debate, as every sanctuary runs at full capacity (and beyond), Gail and Richard decided to somehow make room for Wonder in their sanctuary, having just accepted another special-needs puppy named Hope. (“Hope” and “Wonder”?) Funds were raised and transport was arranged. Wonder finally arrived, and adjusted seamlessly to life at the sanctuary. He is now thriving, with the help of a natural diet, homeopathy, Reiki, and other holistic healing modalities. He also has a new wheelchair, and loves to go charging around the grounds in it. When he’s not in his wheelchair, his favorite place is on the sofa in the middle of the sanctuary, where he can keep an eye on all of the activity going on around him. And in honor of his new life, Gail and Richard gave Wonder a new name: Bailey. He no longer needs to wonder about his future. How you can help:

• There are many ways to help BrightHaven. You can donate, volunteer, join their network, sponsor an animal, attend one of their seminars, and more. Click here for more information.
• Follow BrightHaven on Facebook.