Kuwaiti Karlos
The following story was submitted by Sara H. who used to foster for WLK. Her story of "foster failure" is one that many of our fosters are very familiar with!
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Patricia Riska, the founder of Wings of Love Kuwait, is a flight attendant with United Airlines. She uses her free time to travel between Baltimore and Kuwait, rescuing abandoned, unwanted, and abused dogs.
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There is a place in Kuwait called the “Friday Market” where dogs are chained up in the desert, out in the exhaustive heat, often with no water, for people to look at and buy. There are large dogs, small dogs, and dozens of various breeds. All of these animals are essentially left to die in the heat while they wait for someone to buy them. Patricia has a dream team in Kuwait who help rescue these dogs from their horrible situations. They clean them up, love them, and treat them to a warm bed, food, and vet care.
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While the deep scar around Karlos' neck is a reminder to us of his horrible past, we we hope the love he’s experiencing in his new home will continue to transform as him. him. Karlos has completely changed both ours and Aspen’s lives for the better.
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On the left: when Karlos was found;
on the right: Karlos smiling now!
The Friday Market is where they found Karlos. When they found him, Karlos had a wire embedded in his neck, at a point close to decapitation. He was dirty, scared, dehydrated, and bloody. Leila, a member of the team that lives in Kuwait, rescued Karlos; she took him to a vet to get his neck sutured back together and helped nurse him back to health. When Patricia brought Karlos over to the States, we were fostering for the organization. We agreed to bring Karlos into our home as a foster, and very quickly fell in love with him. The sweet boy was scared at first, cowering when someone lifted a foot to put a shoe on, or crying when someone made a loud noise. He had no interest in toys. His teeth were decaying and he sorely needed a haircut.
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After a few months of loving sweet Karlos, he became a new dog. He would get excited to go out for walks, gobble down his kibble, gently play with socks he found on the floor, and chase his puppy brother, Aspen, around. We became “foster fails” and officially adopted Karlos into our family. Every small bark when he’s excited, chase of his tail, or run around with a spare sock in his mouth is a big victory for little Karlos.
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Karlos still has moments where he reminds us that he had a rough past. Whether shutting his eyes tightly when the wind blows too hard reminding him of a sandstorm in the desert, or flinching when a stranger passes too closely, not sure of what they might do to him, Karlos is slowly but surely becoming a confident and fun-loving pup. He’s a big fan of cuddling and will let you know that he’s not ready for you to stop petting him by gently shoving his head into your hands.
Karlos and his big brother Aspen