By Alex Jones
A TORTURED dog which lost both of her eyes, had her ear sliced off, her jaw broken, and was shot SEVENTEEN times and left to die whilst chained to a box has survived her horrendous ordeal and is now living a happy new life in the UK.
Inspirational wonder dog Maggie was brought to the UK from Lebanon six months ago after suffering “truly heart-breaking” levels of abuse in her own country as a street dog.
Kasey Carlin (25) from Brighton, UK, helped rescue Maggie from almost certain death after her mother spotted a desperate plea for help for a foster parent for the severely injured pooch.
Maggie now lives at home with her ‘fur sister,’ Kasey’s other rescue dog, Mishka, and couldn’t be happier.
“Maggie was found chained to a box, her eyes and ear missing,” explained Kasey.
“She was left in this state for quite a while until a lovely woman saw her story and helped her get the help she needed.
“It was later found out that she was shot, and four bullets had to be removed from her infected eyes.
“Later when she came to live with me, we discovered the remaining ones.
“She now has 13 left in her, but they don’t affect her day-to-day life.”
It was luck, or perhaps fate, that drew Maggie and Kasey together.
“I first knew of Maggie when I was sent her pictures by my mum,” said the rescue dog saviour.
“She was in need of a foster home and my mum was drawn to her and was desperate to help.
“She sent me the pictures and it was truly heart-breaking to see what she had been through.”
After several months of life-saving treatment and recovery in Beirut, Maggie was eventually fit enough to fly to her new owner and family.
Despite her tragic early years, the five-year-old pup has nothing but affection for people and enjoys a very full and active life despite her injuries.
“I think the biggest thing with Maggie that chokes me up still to this day is that the last sight she ever saw was a person looking to hurt her and then the unimaginable pain of being shot,” continued Kasey, who runs an outdoor dog day-care.
“Despite that she has chosen to forgive people. She visits elderly homes, and the students at the university as a therapy dog.
“She loves everyone she meets and is truly happy and fiercely independent. She never judges anyone.
“She sees with her heart and she’s the piece I never knew was missing.
“I’m so lucky and feel so proud to be her mum. I can’t describe her personality in words, you can’t fully understand unless you meet her.
“She is so caring and affectionate despite the horrific abuse she has suffered.”
Animal rescue charity Wild at Heart were heavily involved with Maggie’s rescue and Kasey can’t thank them enough for completing her fur family.
“The Wild at Heart Foundation is a London based charity working to raise animal welfare standards around the world through education,” continued the 25-year-old.
“They are helping to reduce the global stray population through neutering projects – their last spay-a-then in Puerto Rico saw 3,000 dogs and cats neutered.
“One dog can result in a whopping 67,000 dogs in just six years if unchecked.
“And of course, they rescue and rehome injured, abandoned and abused animals all over the world, including my Maggie.”
Despite Maggie’s difficult tale, she still enjoys being centre of attention and often leaves people completely shocked when they realise she’s blind.
“They don’t notice anything is wrong with her because she acts like any other dog,” laughed Kasey.
“Sometimes people notice she’s missing her ear and ask what happened, when I explain they can’t believe it and ask what they can do to help.
“Sometimes people really don’t believe me that she is blind because of how confident and able she is when walking around.
“They keep asking ‘so she can’t see at all?’ I repeatedly say, ‘No! She has no eyes!’
“People’s response to her story online has been amazing, she has over 30,000 followers on Instagram.
“Every morning I wake up to the most incredible messages sent from fans all over the world.
“I think Maggie’s story has many messages but the biggest ones are forgiveness, adopt don’t shop, and that disabled dogs deserve love too.
“She just loves being with people. She loves being cuddled and getting kisses.
“She will purposely run head first into a crowd of people with the sole intention of getting cuddles.”
