April 10, 2024

This boy’s horrendous wound seemed to have frightened him into absolute stillness.

The flesh was torn away from the back of his neck. We carried him gently, though we hurried to our ambulance.

Mason allowed us to clean his wound without flinching for an instant. His eyes initially seemed to stare out to the distance, or turn inward to an imaginary world–maybe it was Mason’s way of coping with the pain. But as soon as the IV drip was inserted and he ate his first meal, Mason was already starting to transform.

He smiled easily when Dhapu came into his kennel to give him comfort. We knew then that he was determined to survive. Over the next weeks, Mason’s wound healing progress was steady, he gained weight well and best of all, flowered into an extremely gentle, loving and enthusiastic boy.