Basta

We named it Basta, because at some point, you have to say enough. Enough of the pain that lasts for years. Enough of the body being used as a tool. Enough of the silence that allows stories like this to happen without consequence.

Basta is 6-7 years old. This isn’t an old dog. She looks like a ravaged old lady. One eye is beyond saving, and they’re still trying to save the other. Her right ear canal is completely blocked, requiring urgent surgery. Her skin is constantly inflamed, hot, burning, painful, and covered in scabs and patches of hairline. Her abdomen is tender and sore, requiring further diagnosis. And scars. From cesareans. Several. Traces of her body being used and then abandoned when it was no longer needed.

It wasn’t old age that ruined her.
It was the human.
The system.
A pseudo-breeding operation where a dog’s life only matters as long as it generates profit.

Basta doesn’t know that her life is hanging in the balance.
She doesn’t know what surgery is.
She doesn’t know how much it costs.
She doesn’t know that the statistics aren’t on her side.
She only knows one thing:
That someone has finally stopped hurting her.
And that’s the only moment in her life where something truly changed.

We haven’t seen such a poor dog in a long time. And yet so calm. So quiet. So attentive. Basta doesn’t fight. She doesn’t scream. She watches. As if she already knows everything. As if she’s learned that resistance doesn’t change anything.

Basta doesn’t ask.
She doesn’t beg.
She doesn’t fight.
She lies still, as if she’s learned her whole life that resistance doesn’t help.
As if she’s accepted that pain is normal.
And that’s precisely why we can’t accept it.

We left her in the hospital. Where someone finally sees her as a being, not a problem to be fixed. Ahead of her lies treatment, tests, surgeries, and lengthy post-operative care. A road with no guarantees and no quick miracles. Just work, time, and extreme caution. But there’s one difference: this time, she’s not alone.

The cost of saving the Bulldog is $5,135. That’s a lot. But it’s the price for a real chance. This amount includes visits and all the procedures, hospitalization, stays in kennels, post-operative care, and follow-up checkups. These aren’t “in-case” costs. All of this must happen now if she’s to be saved.

This story is also part of our “Love Wisely” campaign. Because love for animals isn’t just about good intentions. It’s about responsibility for the decisions someone makes at their expense. Basta is living proof of what happens when this responsibility isn’t taken.

Today, she matters.
Today, we’re asking for help for Basta.
If you can make room for her in your gesture, in your decision, in your support—do it now.

Because sometimes, one action is enough to change someone’s life.