Victoria is a dog whose days are numbered, and she’s making every last one count.
Born into the stressful life of a puppy mill, the 11-year-old German Shepard is here to prove that even if a dog comes from a traumatic past, life is still worth living to the fullest.
Thankfully, two amazing and compassionate people are committed to seeing that Victoria does just that!
When Victoria began her life in the puppy mill, an overcrowded, filthy, inhumane environment, she was forced into becoming a dog-breeding factory.
Within just one decade, this sweet-natured dog gave birth to 18 litters!
Can you imagine being pregnant 18 times in your life, and against your wishes at that? For a dog, that is the equivalent to between 100-200 puppies.
The strong-willed dog endured all of this on top of malnourishment, confinement, and constant distress.
When she was just a pup herself, Victoria was ferociously attacked by another poor dog who had been bred into the same traumatizing conditions.
Due to the horrible management practices of the industry, Victoria’s wounds were never treated and as a result, the vision in her left eye was never fully recovered.
Sadly, this precious dog would suffer more before she was done.
In 2017, something was obviously wrong with Victoria, and it was discovered that the dog was plagued with Degenerative Myelopathy, a fatally progressive disease of the spinal cord that eventually leads to total paralysis…if the dog lives that long.
By the time Victoria had reached the age of just 10-years-old, her over-taxed body had had enough.
Exhausted, abused, and undernourished, this loving dog could no longer keep up with the demands of breeding.
A blessing in disguise, Victoria’s ailment made her “useless” to the puppy mill, and so she was rescued by Finding Shelter Animal Rescue in October of 2017, tasting freedom for the first time in her life.
The beautiful German Shepard has since lost the use of her back legs and is now dependent on a wheelchair to get around.
The charity’s co-founder, Grace Kelly Herbert and husband Steve, are personally seeing to it that this wonderful dog gets to experience a life she’s deserved from the very beginning; to be loved and nurtured while living a full and happy existence.
The kind-hearted Pennsylvanian couple created an awesome bucket list for Victoria, jam-packed with top-notch doggy adventures, including being a radio DJ.
“The DJ played a game where he put cookies over the names of each song. Whichever cookie Victoria ate first, that was the song that was chosen to play.”
Just in the short time since last October, the fun-loving dog has already gotten to experience being a police K-9 for a day, taking the lead during a Fire Dept. Parade, and of course, multiple playdates on sandy beaches.
Although Victoria’s crippling and life-stealing disease has already begun to advance, the brave dog still has many more joyous days ahead, thanks to Grace and Steve.
Even though she can’t engage in physically demanding activities, she doesn’t let that stop her.
Grace explains that Victoria and her loving foster family are determined to make every day count.
“Terminally-ill dogs like Victoria are worth saving. They still have life left in them. She is a wonderful dog. She is so loyal and friendly, and she has a lot of love to give. If we’re lucky, she’ll last until the end of the year. Everyday is a gift with her.”
“I said to my husband, ‘Imagine all of the things she could have done in the past ten years if she’d have been a dog that was free.’ She’s stronger and happier than ever before. Its about turning something negative into a positive.”
That is exactly what the compassionate couple have done for this resilient dog, on more than just one level.
Aside from living out the experience of many lifetimes, Victoria recently got her Canine Ph.D. from Cornell University, as a thank you for participating in a Degenerative Myelopathy research study at the institution.
Her participation is key in the study, as her disease has already progressed to an advanced stage, and researchers are able to study her body to help create new ways of testing for early onset of the disease and, hopefully, one day be able to cure it.
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Victoria has made it very clear that she is not giving up on life.
Her bravery, love, and resilience go to show that every life is worth fighting for, even to the very end.
If you would like to know more about her story, you can check out Finding Shelter Animal Rescue here.
It’s stories like hers that give us the hope that one day, puppy mills will be a thing of the past, and in the meantime have us shouting V for Victoria!
