In March 2021, I received a call about a dog found seemingly dead inside a gated community. When I arrived, I saw her barely breathing under a tree—covered in thousands of ticks sucking the last of her blood. She was so weak she couldn’t even enter a trap, so I gently lifted her into a crate.

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The ticks crawled all over me during the ride, and veterinarians refused to admit her due to the infestation. Alone, I spent five grueling hours in my tub, painstakingly removing every tick with numb, cramped fingers. The tub looked like a crime scene—blood everywhere.

Tikka was severely anemic with heartworm disease and needed urgent care. After multiple blood transfusions and a difficult recovery, she survived when I feared she wouldn’t.

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Months later, she flew to the U.S., where my rescue partners found her a loving forever home. Last year, despite my own health struggles, I reunited with Tikka—now named Sophie—at a park in New York. Seeing her healthy and happy, loved by her new family, filled my heart with joy.https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61573537220192

How she ended up abandoned, suffering for days, is a mystery. But thanks to so many kind souls, Tikka got her second chance—and a beautiful life ahead.