WEBBOX JOY OF PETS AWARD
MAGGIE
Blind dog once used for target practice now brings comfort to others as therapy dog.
By rights wonder dog Maggie shouldn’t even be here. Horrifically abused, she fought back against all the odds – and is now a much-loved therapy dog bringing peace and comfort to others.
Maggie’s remarkable life began in the streets of Lebanon. She was found by a woman who found her being used for target practice. She was pregnant, had 200 bullet wounds all over her tiny body and a broken jaw. One of her ears had been hacked off and her eyes had been removed. Her injuries were so severe, rescuers wondered if she should be put to sleep.
But Maggie, who is now seven, pulled through and was brought to the UK, and put in foster care with Kasey Carlin, 28, an animal lover from Brighton. She fell in love with Maggie and her wonky looks – and formally adopted her in 2018, bringing her home to live with her.
Kasey recalls: “I took her to the vet and was astonished to find out that there are so many fragments of bullets and shrapnel in Maggie’s body that it’s physically impossible to count them all.
“When the vet showed me the scans, I couldn’t even speak. I had no words. The bullets were everywhere. Yet despite all she has been through she is the most loving and trusting creature and takes everything in her stride.”
Kasey adds: “When I first had her, some people thought Maggie was so damaged she should have been put down. Just look at her now. She is proof that anything is possible.”
Now Maggie works as a therapy dog in care homes, schools and hospitals across Sussex – where residents respond to her loving nature.
Kasey says it means the world to her that Maggie is being honoured with this award.
As she explains: “You’d think that after everything she’s been through Maggie would be scared around humans, but she is so loving and trusting – and she shares that with the homes we visit.
“After everything she’s been through it’s amazing to have won this award – it’s wonderful to know that people love Maggie as much as we do.
“Her looks are part of who she is – people always notice her – and show everything she’s been through. She really is a dog in a million.”