Margaret Hungerford said, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” It’s the ideal quote for this situation. Bonnie, a sad puppy, was discovered in Romania. She was injured and lying near to a railway track. Vets speculated that she was hit by a train, but also said that her horrific injuries may have been inflicted by a much more horrible human person.
Bonnie is missing her front paw and her nose. Vets were ready to give up since they didn’t believe she’d make it. Bonnie was noticed by an outstanding lady called Kate when she was relocated to the UK. Kate fell in love with her right away and decided to give her a lifelong home after fostering her.
“Bonnie was born in a massive Romanian factory, surrounded by other street dogs. Before Bon was hurt, a woman working there had observed a puppy with her mother and siblings and had taken images to post on social media in the hopes of finding them a home. Bonnie was struck by a coal train that was much smaller than normal. Workers saw her being struck and heard her screams. When the kind woman went to work three days later, she discovered Bonnie was hurt.
The woman and her daughter Claudia rescued the dog, his mother, and siblings. I took her to the veterinarian. Claudia remarked. ‘She was in a bad condition’ On the way to the vet, we had to open the windows.’ Her snout was gone, and she was losing part of her leg and tail. There have been several procedures to ‘fix her up.'”
Bonnie was discovered injured and unwell on a railway track. Her front paw and nose were gone.
Beacon Animal Rescue Centre then transported Bonnie to the United Kingdom. Kate came upon her on Facebook at that time.
“Bonnie was mistreated by her brothers since she is different and weaker than the rest of her siblings. Bonnie was adored by the wonderful woman who discovered her and her daughter, but they were unable to retain her. They took her to safety (Beacon Animal Rescue). ‘We just found this poor baby,’ Rebecca, the rescue’s owner, said me when I found her. I fell in love, knowing that no one would take her because of her appearance, and that others would assume she would need professional and continuing medical care, putting them off.”
It was love at first sight for both of them. Kate adopted Bonnie and provided her a lifelong home in a matter of months.
“Bonnie accompanied her sister Effie to England” (who lives about 20 minutes away). Pepper, Baxter, and Bella joined me, my husband Ross, and her new siblings, Pepper, Baxter, and Bella, at a large old private school. Bon’s mother and siblings were given up for adoption in Germany. Because she’s too cheeky/bossy to be named Angel, we changed her name to Bonnie.”
Initially, Kate and her husband were gathering funds for Bonnie to have a prosthetic limb and nose surgery.
“The kids at school had never seen anything like the puppy before—they came from a range of cultures, some of which have quite different perspectives on dogs—but Bonnie was an excellent teaching tool—she taught acceptance of diversity and not to judge a book by its cover.”
The prosthetic limb, on the other hand, did not operate. Because of that, the wound continued opening up, and veterinarians strongly warned against it.
“Then Skyla, a new rescue sibling, was added to the household. Because Bonnie was odd, not many dogs liked her, but Skye instantly accepted her and simply wanted to play with her—they were the same age and had grown up together. Bonnie enjoys playing with her sister Skye and is just as fast as the other dogs, so having three legs makes no difference to her.”
After some further contemplation, Kate came to the conclusion that Bonnie did not need cosmetic surgery since she is great as she is.
“We then obtained funds for a prosthetic limb, but Bonnie’s stump wound continued to open up” (Bon used to scream and scream). The veterinarians recommended amputating Bon’s leg—we wish we had done it sooner; she is now pain-free and incredibly agile. We opted against changing her nose since it’s entirely aesthetic, and we like her just the way she is. Who cares if someone doesn’t like how she looks; that simply proves how shallow they are!”
Kate was determined about not putting Bonnie through surgery only to make her more ‘normal.’
“Here are a few issues we’ve had with her: We just have to stroke her on the back if food gets stuck—other than that, we simply need to keep an eye on her. Bonnie doesn’t feel any discomfort since she has phantom limb syndrome, therefore you can see her attempting to move her leg even though it isn’t there.”
“People often inquire about her eating habits, and she eats simply using a deep bowl that she scoops up with her bottom teeth. Bonnie almost died after eating magic mushrooms on a hike not long ago, but she battled it and won—again.
She also has no discomfort in her mouth—just she’s a little slower at eating and drinking—but she’s gotten used to it. Her hearing is extraordinary, and she’s so perceptive that she watches (and barks at) everything on TV that looks like an animal, to the point that we can’t watch animal documentaries with her!”
Bonnie is a wonderful, lively, and loving dog. She doesn’t seem to be in any discomfort and goes about her business like any other dog would.
“People’s reactions to Bonnie were all stares. ‘Get that beast away from me,’ ‘your dog is nasty,’ and some have even attempted to kick her. ‘Get your dog away from my growling dog,’ says the owner. When I tell people I have a dog without a nose, one of the most frequent questions I get is, “But how can she smell?” It’s terrible.
But she also receives a lot of affection, and many are curious about what occurred. She’s been recognized on social media, and people have taken pictures with her. She’s liked all over the globe on social media, and the number of people who follow her online is astonishing. Gifts have been delivered to her, as well as kind notes.”
“Bonnie is the head of the home; she’s had to be tough to live, but that means she may be unpleasant at times.” Since the day I picked her up and brought her home, she has had a particular link with her mother. The first night she stayed, I remained up all night watching her because her breathing was so loud I believed she was going to die… But that was just Bonnie, and I quickly became used to the noises—quieter she’s today.”
Bonnie is the embodiment of the phrase “don’t judge a book by its cover.”