Maggie’s story

My new name is Maggie, I have had other names such as Smelly Dog,Dirty Thing, Shoo, Get out of here…and so on when I was living on the streets in Kaohsiung, Southern Taiwan.  People who I encountered with would decide what my name was; sometimes I met young mothers with kids, sometimes I was teased by nasty students, old men and others. But there were also some kind office ladies who might offer me some food and called me something in a gentle voice  I never could figure out why I had so many names?  However, I love my new name, “Maggie”, the most, as it was given to be by my tender-hearted rescuer.

I grew up on the streets and wondered around markets and parks. It was life of freedom, but I could never forget the feeling of hunger.  I had to walk for long distances to search for what limited food there was.  Some people would wave brooms at me and scream: “Get out of here!” when all I wanted to do was lie down and rest.  The worst of all was that I was pregnant. People resent a pregnant dog even more, so I became very unpopular, but a stray dog like me could not make any decision whether or not if I wanted to get pregnant. It wasn’t my fault. But being a young mother, the only thing that I instinctively cared about was to find a safe place to give birth to my babies.

One day I was walking along, and suddenly I felt a sharp blade stab me. The blows kept coming and each cut was so deep that my flash was wide open and my bones exposed.  I ran as fast as I could to get away and protect my babies and was not aware of the road traffic.  I was run over by a speeding car.  That didn’t stop.  Lying in my own blood and waiting to die, there was nothing I could do but cry for my unborn babies. 

A kind person found me near death by the roadside. She then immediately contacted the L.C.O staff who rushed to my aid. I was finally safe in good hands. 

After spending 2 months in the hospital, I have regained my health.  Although those scars made me look like a zebra, I also lost a leg and all my babies.  But I am so happy now that I am loved, have food and water, and tender kisses.  I really enjoy my NEW life.  And I just love my new name, ‘Maggie’, so much and smile every day when I hear it called.