It’s a miracle Falkor, the rescue dog, has survived, let alone thrived, after living a life of alleged torture and abuse. But that’s just what this heroic family pet is doing right now.
His difficult life, which was marked by several excruciating wounds, may have even included his reported involvement in dog fighting. His path to recovery has been difficult, according to the Bull Arab mastiff’s rescuers Troy and Danielle (who preferred to only be identified by their first names).
Danielle discovered Falkor on their Sunshine Coast home’s back porch about three years ago. Danielle described their unexpected encounter as “a gigantic dog, but really emaciated and starved, he didn’t seem well at all.”
“I left some food out and announced that there was a dog nearby on the (Facebook) community board. “I assumed he could have ripped himself up on a fence,” the witness said, “until I noticed these large open tears on his underbelly and slashes and everything all over him.”
Falkor’s owners left a note for Danielle before she could take their visit to the 24-hour vet, and when they came to pick him up, the couple discovered his tragic past. They learned that Falkor had purportedly been trained as a bait dog for dog fighting in a previous life.
He just has a few back teeth left after they kicked out all of his teeth and sliced off his ear, according to Danielle. He wouldn’t attack someone and possesses no violent tendencies, however.
Falkor was supposedly taken in by new owners, but when they were unable to provide for him, he ended up with their neighbors, who then donated him to the couple. Falkor could have left, but instead, Danielle said, “he always came to our back deck and sat on the chairs waiting for us.”
The history of their new pet was murky. She claimed that after his perpetrators fled, they left him with two or three other canines, who all entered a neighboring property.
The other dogs were attacking the farmer’s livestock, so he shot them. Falkor was not attacking the farmer’s livestock, according to the farmer, and he was instead staring up at him with his large brown eyes. Falkor was “covered with” slashes and burn marks when he was found on the property, north of the Sunshine Coast, according to Danielle. He weighed approximately eight pounds.
He was traumatized and lacked energy, she claimed. He was unable to properly use the bathroom and was unable to stand up on his rear legs.
The parents claimed that despite his disabilities, he had a kind disposition. The tears were later identified as malignant solar sores, which were thought to have been brought on by prolonged exposure to the sun while chained outside.
Troy claimed that since they had saved him, they had spent $22,000 on Falkor’s medical procedures. He now weighs 35 kg and is a fully functional service dog.
In order to help him, Danni slept on the couch in the living room for three months after one of the procedures, Troy recalled. “Due to his stomach, he is now limited to eating just Hill’s biome biscuits.”
The pair helped him adjust to his new life by taking him to the beach for the first time and spending around six months teaching him how to play. For approximately nine months, Troy said, “we didn’t hear him make a joyous bark or noise.”
Because of his anxiousness, we were unable to leave him alone for more than two minutes. “It’s fairly amazing that he changed from that to being a service dog. His compassionate nature inspired the pair to train him as an assistance dog. Cats jump off the table and rub against him as we take him to the doctor”, Troy added.
People go by and just stop and ask if they may say “Hello” everywhere we go, and we carry him with us for some reason. The pair came to the conclusion that whether to adopt a dog from a shelter or a rescue should be decided on a case-by-case basis, depending on the requirements of the dogs and the rescuers’ abilities.
We participate in many online community groups, and Bull Arab mastiffs are the friendliest dogs, Troy said. “I want people to know that Bull Arab mastiffs are not scary dogs,” he added.
Everyone thinks that he is fortunate to have us, but I believe that we are fortunate to have him.
Source: Sunshine Coast News
