I first met Koa about a month ago, yet I feel I’ve known her my whole life. 

Her precious face, covered in mange and scabs was filled with an expression of such innocent yearning and goofy devotion that it was instantly recognizable to me — from  the minute I laid eyes on her in a shelter in Fresno.

The shelter she was in was doing everything they could for this sweet girl, but she needed to heal in a home with around the clock love and TLC .

Because, I know that face all right…

I see that face when I wake up in the morning.

I feel that face watching me as I go about my day.

I say goodnight to that face as I close my eyes each night.

Hers is the face of every mangey street dog I’ve ever seen struggling to get by. The face of every lonely, awkward pup I’ve watched scrambling for attention behind a shelter kennel door. The face of every desperately eager homeless animal I’ve come across – with that  almost panicked, yet somehow still heartbreakingly optimistic, expression of longing for connection and love.

I love that scabby, mangey face.

I love it fiercely.

So, I took one look at her and I knew. I knew we had to take her. And fix her up. And turn that scarred, itchy, scabby face into the face of a relaxed, happy, full-coated beauty without a care in the world.

Koa has been with us for one-month as a medical foster. There is still a frantic eagerness in her every movement that reveals a insecurity I hope will fade with time. There is an urgency to her affection that almost feels as though she needs to hurry up and get love  as fast as she can, because the honeymoon may end at any moment.

Yet, each day the routine of love, familiar characters in familiar environments and lots of reassurance and patience is slowly washing over her and changing her from the inside out.

Koa’s scars, her wounds, are far beyond skin deep.

As for her physical problems and skin issues, she needs  biopsies and medicines and daily treatments for the next few months to treat infections and mange. All of this is costly, and I hope you’ll consider donating toward her Special Needs Medical Rescue fund, if you believe in her as much as I do.

Donate now

As for the issues with Koa that extend beyond the surface, the emotional scars and bruises, those are being treated with the same meticulous attention and careful intention.

As her coat grows back in, may her eyes become a bit softer and less desperate.

As her scabs give way to healthy skin, may her insecurity transform into a gentle confidence.

And even when that beautiful, mangey face finally gives way to the glistening-coated beauty who has waited so long for her turn to shine, I know deep in those root beer brown eyes I will still see the intricate understanding of an old soul with scars that have healed, but remain just below the surface – giving a depth to her beauty that is difficult to match.

I love that face, all right. 

And…I’d do anything to help it. Won’t you?

Click here to see a video of Koa

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