For the Strays: Ilia the Hound Dog.

Ilia is a Greek hare hound known as Gekas. She was abandoned, most likely, because she isn't good at hunting. Hunters will abandon their hunting dogs so that they can replace them with one that will do the job better. I first noticed her around the middle of December. She kept her distance but started to warm up to me. Of course food always does the trick.

Strays run many risks on the streets and it didn't take too long for something bad to happen to Ilia. One morning I found her in a pool of blood .... A HIT AND RUN! (Please watch the video.)

The brunt of the hit was on the snout, breaking one side of her jaw. The impact caused traumatic brain injury; swelling the soft tissues that put pressure on her optical nerves causing temporary blindness. After the proper treatment from our vet, she began to recover; the swelling went down, she regained her eye site, her jaw was fixed. Three wires were placed in her jaw so that the bones could mend. All went well and it was time to put her in a safe place for her to recovery.

Every day she is doing better. She is to eat only soft food for a little over a month and then the wires can come out. I am lucky that I could raise the money for her vet costs and find a friend to help out with a temporary safe haven in a situation like this.

When the time comes and the wires have to come out, she also has to find a home. We are almost two weeks away from that point. It is unbearable that this wonderful dog will have to be put back on the streets where she will be at risk once again for something terrible to happen. The average life of a stray is about 2 years. I have witnessed this over and over.

ILIA NEEDS A FOREVER HOME TO GET HER OFF THE STREETS.

Please, send a message to tinakanellos2@hotmail.com if you would like to help.

Thank you
K.K.

13/03/2014

Ilia finally has had the wires removed. She will be on soft food for a little while longer. The hit in the head has also left her with a bit of a crooked scull. She is so lucky she has not had any permanent brain damage. What a tough girl she is!!

Ilia was anesthitized so that the wires could be taken out.

Thank you to the people who chipped in to help out with the costs for Ilia. Without you it would have been impossible to do what needed to be done. Thank you to our incredible vets, Giannis and Eliza who love what they do.

Now all Ilia needs is a permenent home so that this won't happen to her again. If anyone would like to help please leave a message at tinakanellos2@homail.com.

K.K.

April 8, 2014, Update

Ilia has had a full recovery. Her jaw seems to have healed well. She eats naturally and has no problem eating dry dog food. This is one lucky dog! We haven't been able to find a permanent home yet but I am sure there is a great family out there for her. Perhaps you may know someone? Please share her story.