Dogs of Zarkovica -Lea’s Legacy

Please read Lea's story, written by a volunteer who adopted this very special dog.

Lea inspired us to start the project Lea's legacy and care for older and sick dogs at tge shelter.

Donations will help us secure neded medical care and medicines, tick collars and pippets for those eho really need our care.

Have you ever encountered suffering face to face?

Have you seen, at least for a moment in someone's two eyes, all the sorrow of this world?

Have you ever been able to spot all the injustice done just from the one scene?

I did. The day I saw her. The moment I saw Lea.

.......

It was hard to keep an eye on just one creature that day while visiting Zarkovica dog shelter. Almost three hundred tails greeted me on arrival. Nearly three hundred abandoned souls sought my palm. Two hands are too small to hug them all. One mouth is not enough to whisper to everyone that not all people are the same. Zarkovica is such a place. Immeasurable sorrow for every abandoned being, and indescribable happiness that they found their way to asylum. To people who will only show them love, to hands that will never hit them, to lips from which only kisses will come down. Zarkovica is like that. Tough place. Not for everyone. Not every heart has the capacity to receive so much emotion and not burst into three hundred pieces. Someone's sad story is written on every stone of the spacious asylum, and believe me, there are a lot of stones. But from that same, seemingly only sad rocky hill, more than four thousand dogs went in their forever homes. Only their happy stories are told because, as Sandra says, we have no time to grieve and we have to move on.

I will now tell Lea's story.

Lea's story is just as difficult as the place where she was born. Lea was abandoned even before she was born. Her pregnant mother was thrown near the shelter just a few days before the birth. Found and rescued, she brought her children in security of the shelter. Lea seemed to have no chance from her first breath. Apparently weaker than her sisters, her struggle began at an early age. Lea is a lioness. A small Posavac hound who fought like a lion for her place under the sun. Her medical history is a long line of medical names for the conditions. Leishmania. Piroplasmosis. Anemia. Chronic kidney disease. And so on. There is no volunteer who did not help. Constant visits to the vet. Daily therapies. Chemotherapy. Dialysis. Medical searches. Antibiotics. IV again. Repeated medical searches. Lea struggled, and everyone struggled with her.

It was hard to keep an eye on just one creature that day when visiting an abandoned dog shelter. But just one look at Lea was enough to never look away from her again.

Shocked by the scene, I searched for answers to a million questions in my head. They told me the story of a little Posavac hound that decided to be a lioness and not to die, even though the death is lurking around every corner.

The little creature in front of me didn't look like a dog, let alone a lion. With almost no hair, her ribs lined up so clearly beneath the thin skin streaked with sores. Her skinny hips protruded so sharply, and a tiny ponytail with only a few hairs on top would sway a few times. Everything about her was so eerily sad. Except for the eyes. I stared for a long time without blinking into those almond-shaped eyes and wondered if it had to be this way. It was the beginning of November and winter was slowly tightening around the asylum. It was cold and Lea had no hair. They told me it would be hard to survive the winter.

I stared at that naked tormented body. More than anything in the world I wished that dog would spend at least one night in the warm. More than anything I wanted someone to come and take her. To just hug her and take her to a place where suffering will be at least a little easier. To have a home. To have her own people ... Looking at her so miserable, I became miserable too. Until I realized that I was the one who came. Reason dictated the opposite, I heard him say that this dog would not bring me the same except suffering. Reason has told me that it may not fit among our dogs and cats. It is reasonable to expect various problems that can be avoided by making a rational decision. But I didn't. I heard the phrase 'I'm going to adopt Lea' come out of my mouth somehow uncertainly and quietly. Silence and serious expressions. I saw the surprised looks of the volunteers. I also noticed the disbelief on their faces. I said again this time more confidently that I would take her home and if she agreed with the cats and dogs that she would stay. The disbelief and surprise of the volunteers became a celebration and a joy. Everyone was talking about Lea going home. Happiness was palpable, all the sorrows of asylum erased on that day. I will always remember it.

Lea entered our lives in early November last year. She spent 45 beautiful days in her forever home. Unfortunately, her condition deteriorated sharply in late January. Leah's kidneys could no longer bear the burden of daily therapy and our Lioness fell asleep forever on January 30, the little fighter ended his battle surrounded only by love and warmth.

I will not lie to you, the sadness is unspeakable. I will not embellish anything because the suffering I feel is immense. No one prepared me that our story would not last even three months. I wanted so much. I believed she would recover. Well, her hair started to grow a little. I planned to take her to the beach to see the sea for the first time. I also wanted to go to the village to see the animals. We needed to go on a longer car ride because she loved to ride, not just to the vet and back. I wanted so much for her, and we didn’t. And that hurts the most. And there is no culprit that it is easier to bear the pain, it is simply the way it is.

Lea was a lioness. She fought from first to last breath, and her last 45 days of fighting were at least a little easier. She spent her days tucked away in a few blankets, enjoying short walks and long cuddles. Now that she is gone, many have asked me what I have to say. At first I said never again , not even crazy. But today I say, yes, in every possibility and always.

From Lea’s life suffering and our unspeakable suffering due to her death, we decided to start Lea’s Legacy. A non-profit initiative to encourage the adoption of dogs that really need it the most. It is true that all dogs deserve their home. But dogs that are sick, old and unable to live in a shelter need it the most. They need it as soon as possible until it's too late. We provide care to those who need it most.

More information about the shelter and our projects @dogs_of_zarkovica

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