Dog’s Eye Was Gouged Out, and She Was Left for Dead by Cruel Attacker–Until Rescuers Restore Her Spirit

(Illustration - Shutterstock)

As Valia Orfanidou, the videographer and animal welfare activist behind the popular YouTube channel The Orphan Pet, said in her introductory video, “Greece is a country where strays are too many, the shelters are too packed, and adoptions are rare.” It’s also a country where cruelty to dogs and cats is all too prevalent, including blindings and shootings.

Steffie, a rescue dog whose story was featured on The Orphan Pet, was a prime example of what animal rescuers in the country are trying to combat. Steffie was found in the small village of Karditsa in central Greece, and rescuer Ermioni Giannakou of the animal charity Diasozo discovered that Steffie couldn’t move because of her injuries. Worst of all, her right eye had been gouged out.

But thanks to Giannakou’s help and the attention that The Orphan Pet video helped create, the stray dog received surgery and eventually made at least a partial recovery.

Steffie had originally been in the care of another dog rescuer, named Litsa, who had been caring for 16 stray and abused animals out of her house. Tragically, the week before, Litsa had been killed by none other than her own husband, and her several charges were left without a carer.

Rescuers believe that Steffie had been trying to find the deceased caregiver around the time when she was violently attacked by an unidentified local villager. It wasn’t just the eye that was injured; X-rays showed that Steffie had sustained a serious blow to the head, leaving her with a fracture and a concussion.

As Ermioni Giannakou explained on Facebook, “On her body she has thorns and a rope tied around her body like a harnesses and a plastic rope tied around her neck like a collar.” Now that Giannakou and the other members of Diasozo Animal Rescue Team had to care for all the animals left behind after Litsa’s death, they were in urgent need of financial support.

Orfanidou wrote: “The incidents of animal cruelty, neglect and abuse in the area are many, and the local charity is comprised of only a few volunteers, who are struggling to make ends meet and help as many animals as they can.”

When Steffie arrived at the animal hospital, the vet was able to remove the harness and choke collar before moving on to the most pressing issues: removing Steffie’s injured eye, which was dangling out of its socket; examining her for internal injuries; and then spaying and deworming her. The carers also offered Steffie food, and The Orphan Pet’s video shows her eating hungrily, probably for the first time in days.

Despite everything she had been through, though, Steffie now at least had someone who genuinely cared for her and lots of people around the world following her story who were donating to those who were watching over her.

After all the time in the hospital, Steffie was taken to a foster home with a member of Diasozo. Within two weeks of having been found on death’s doorstep, she had made a tremendous recovery. “Steffie is well!! She will need time to recover, she still seems a little bit lost probably from the hit at the head but we can see that she is doing so much better!” Giannakou posted on Facebook. “X-ray saws an old [fracture] at her jaw. I wonder what kind of life this girl had!!!!”

Photos showed a much improved Steffie with a clean, soft coat, looking as though she had been eating well and resting well after her horrendous experience that almost claimed her life.

“She can understand everything and she feels happy around us and around other dogs,” wrote Giannakou. “She has a sweet friendly character. She is a sweetheart and everything going very well!!!”