Bitza

Hi Nancy, finally arrived home with Bitza. He slept on my lap, the whole 2 hours drive back home. Once in a while he looked up at me, and licked my hands, and every time he looks at me he wags his tail. Oh, I just love this dog. He was very hungry and thirsty when we came to my house, and now I think its time to go for a walk. He is such an easy and loving dog.

We sent an emergency plea earlier this month (September) for Bitza, the dog that was allowed respite at a restaurant until he was hit by a car. Here is an update on his story:

Until recently Bitza was the dog of a restaurant, but now nobody wants him back there, just because he was hit by a car. The accident caused him a pelvic fracture and also a broken foot. A waitress paid for the taxi to transport Bitza to the vet clinic, and she almost got fired because of this. The owner of the restaurant was very proud of this dog when her husband was alive. But after her spouse died she changed and fired everybody who had saved food for strays.

After the accident Bitza was not allowed to enter the yard of the restaurant, where he was able to drink water at least. The owner is afraid that Bitza will be a crippled dog and will scare the customers. Bitza was left on the streets with no water and no protection, where he could be hit by a car again anytime. We tried to find a few fosters or yards where he can stay in order to have the surgeries and recover after, but he was kicked out from every place the very next day.

That is why we now know Bitza as the unwanted dog: Not wanted by his former owners, not wanted by anybody in foster.

RAR decided to move Bitza from Braila to Bucharest so he could have the best care possible, the bone surgeries that he needed, and afterwards, find a good home for him. In a couple of days after a complete checkup we had found out that he had a severe heartworm infestation. This is a disease with a very tough treatment. Many dogs do not survive the treatment. It is very long and expensive, and dogs need good care to be able to make it. They need a home during the treatment; it helps them a lot.

We had no home at that point for Bitza, but still decided against all odds to fight for life, to try to start the heartworm treatment while Bitza is in the clinic. Only to keep him there it is $20/day and the treatment at that point already reached $600 with no surgery done yet.

The next problem appeared immediately after this decision: There is a shortage of the main medication throughout the world, and we were not able to find the medicine for Bitza. In the same time somebody from Denmark offered to adopt Bitza and give him a permanent home. We decided to start an alternative treatment that has been proven to work on heartworm infestations.

Patricia, one of our friends in Romania who told us about Bitza, has posted a video of Bitza on Youtube. Dr. Aurelian has posted another video of Bitza on Youtube.