“Dear reader, I am Monica and I want to tell you the story of the most special being I have ever met, the most beautiful gift that life gave me, my super champion, Thorito.
Thor is one of so many puppies abandoned to their fate when he was just a few months old. Someone found him in some trash cans, but due to certain circumstances and because of an injury he had on one of his front paws, they decided not to take him in and abandoned him again. When I learned of this decision, I was outraged, and because of this, Thor finally came into our lives.
I'll never forget that adorable face that stole my heart. From the first moment I saw him, I knew he hadn't crossed my path by chance.
I took him home and he met the family that has been his for 4 and a half years... his father Alberto, his dog siblings Nana, Duna and Dylan, and me.
We are a large family with many responsibilities, and we spend a lot of time away from home, so we believed Thor needed a family that could take the best possible care of him. Therefore, we decided to find him a better home that would dedicate more time to him.
and the care we could offer him. We took him to Castellón thinking that Thor had finally found his perfect family, but nothing could be further from the truth.
Our little one was abandoned again because of an abnormality in one of his front legs. At that moment, we realized that we would be the best family for him, and we embarked on a journey to try and find out what was wrong with our little guy.
Thor's two front legs became so deformed that he could barely walk and he kept hurting himself by biting his own legs.
We visited many veterinarians, the best specialists, until finally in Valencia they were able to diagnose his illness: Sensory Neuropathy. A serious neurological disease for which there is no treatment.
The affected dogs lose sensation in their limbs due to sensory and motor neuron degeneration, and must be euthanized.
Our diagnosis was that Thor was going to gradually lose his legs and they didn't give him more than 1 year of life expectancy.
Faced with this situation, we only had two options: put Thor to sleep and prevent the disease from progressing further, or keep fighting. Those of you who knew Thor know that the first option wasn't part of his plan; fighting to the end was his goal, and he demonstrated this every second with his attitude, his vitality, his joy, and his zest for life. Knowing that Thor wasn't in pain spurred us on; we couldn't give up, not while he wanted to keep trying.
Thor underwent surgery four times, during which his front legs were amputated, and despite having little hope, he managed to cheat death. Once he recovered, we got him a wheeled cart, which he adapted to very quickly, and his life began to look a little brighter.
Finally, he could go for long walks, go to places where he could meet other dogs, enjoy the beach, accompany us on our holidays, etc.
Thor went from being a dog in need of help to helping others himself. He was the star of numerous awareness talks for children and adults about animal abandonment, and he joined us in activities with senior citizens and children with special needs, where he was a clear example that you can be happy and loved even if you're different from others.
But soon Thor faced another major setback in his life: he dislocated both hips. And although he managed to overcome this obstacle, the medication he had to take to alleviate the pain he began to feel caused him problems a little later.
When he was at his best and it seemed that his illness had apparently stabilized, suddenly Thor stopped eating, stopped enjoying life, stopped fighting, stopped being himself... Our vet gave us the worst news... he had developed acute kidney failure and despite our attempts to keep him with us, Thor had already made his decision.
He had exhausted his strength, he was very weak and tired, he could not fight anymore and that same day we had to say goodbye to him.
It was the saddest day of my life. I've never felt so helpless, so angry, so much pain. A pain that doesn't stop, that grows more and more with each passing day... Now I would give anything to go back to spending sleepless nights with him, to pushing a stroller on every walk, to going from vet to vet, to coming home every day with my heart in my mouth, worried that he might have hurt himself.
Now I would do anything, much more than I did back then... but he's gone now.
Those of you who are still so lucky, enjoy your furry friends, take care of them, look after them, take long walks, worry about their training and well-being because one day, when you least expect it, they will be gone.
And don't turn your eyes away from the dogs who need help. Even if it's just a little you can do, do it. Every little bit counts; it might seem like nothing to you, but it means everything to them. Prioritize adoption, give senior dogs and dogs with special needs a chance... they deserve it too, and what they'll give you back will be immense.
Thor has been the best teacher I've ever had. He taught me to enjoy every moment, to fight even when there's no hope, that attitude is everything, and that it doesn't matter what you see, that what's truly important is beneath the skin, and that differences don't make us different, but unique.
The truth is that he was the one who helped me, not the other way around, because even though he didn't have little legs, Thor always had wings to fly.
I just hope that one day I'll find him again, give him all the kisses and hugs we missed, and enjoy everything we didn't have time for in the years we shared together.
I hope I lived up to his expectations and that wherever he is now, he is proud of the family he chose to care for him.
We also want to thank all of you for the kind gestures you have shown them, and our friends for all the pampering and concern shown towards him.
But above all, we want to thank him for being such a good dog, for always making things easy for us, even while going through what he was going through, and for the important life lesson he gave us.
See you soon, champion! We'll always carry you with us. And fly high... even higher than you flew on Earth.
Thank you, Thor! It has been a true pleasure to be a part of your life.”