Bubu

For many months Bubu lived with pain that probably can’t be measured on any scale.

Wounds like these don’t appear in one day.

They don’t appear in a week.

They build up slowly.

First there is a wound. Then an infection. Then the skin dies. Exposed tissue. Flies. Dirt. Another day. More pain. Another night. And again another day when nobody stops it.

When Bubu came under the care of vets, they didn’t just see a dog with extensive wounds.

They saw months of neglect.

And perhaps that is what moves us most.

Because looking at him, it’s hard to believe that for so long nobody put an end to this suffering.

Even before the tests began, his eyes said more than all the medical descriptions.

There was no anger in them.

There wasn’t even fear.

There was exhaustion.

The kind that appears when pain becomes everyday life.

Today Bubu is at a veterinary clinic in Albania.

But I’d like to tell you one thing.

This is not the moment when we can write that everything will be fine.

It is only the beginning.

The vets are fighting an extensive infection, damaged tissue, dehydration and the effects of many months of suffering. Every day they clean his wounds, change his dressings, give him strong antibiotics, painkillers and drips, and do everything to give his body one more chance.

For some time now we have been getting to know Albania from a side most people will never see. We are getting to know small shelters and people who try to save animals every day, often completely on their own. This is where dogs like Bubu end up. Dogs that lived with pain for far too long because nobody had reached out to them before.

Bubu is one of almost fifty dogs in the care of this small shelter.

Each of them has their own story.

Today you have met his.

And we are asking you very much for help.

Not only to pay for Bubu’s treatment.

But also so that the people who save dogs like him in Albania every day can keep doing it tomorrow.

Because Bubu is not an exception.

He is one of many.

And that is exactly why he needs all of us so much.