Thor arrived in our care in October 2025. At first, he was simply a dog someone had seen in a ditch near the road, then a week passed, and he was still there.
When we received the call and went to check, it became clear that whatever had happened to him, he was not managing on his own.
Thor was dehydrated, malnourished, and suffering from babesiosis. The disease had progressed so far that, for a while, we weren’t sure he would survive. The first days were spent hoping that the treatment would work and that his body would still have enough strength left to fight. Thankfully, it did.
Slowly, Thor recovered from the babesiosis, he started eating again,he gained weight. The giant dog hiding underneath all those medical problems finally started to appear.
But one problem remained, a wound on his leg refused to heal. At times it looked better, the skin would start to close, and we would think we were finally reaching the end of this story. Then it would reopen, and we would find ourselves back in the car to Cluj, heading to another appointment, another treatment, another attempt to figure out why healing was taking so long.
Over the past months, Thor has become a familiar face at veterinary clinics. What makes the whole situation even more frustrating is that, apart from the leg, Thor is doing well. He is active, affectionate, and despite his size, one of the favourites of the children who visit Dumbrava.
The reality of rescue is that some cases are not solved in a few days or even a few weeks. Some animals need months of care, repeated consultations, medication, special shampoos, transport, and more patience than we thought we had. Thor is one of those animals.
We are seeing improvements again, and we are cautiously optimistic, but the road has been long, and it is not over yet. If you would like to help us cover Thor’s ongoing veterinary care, treatments, and transport costs, we would be grateful for your support.
And Thor would probably celebrate by asking for more attention from the nearest child willing to pet him.