When 9-year-old Taka was caught up in a house fire back in October 2018, he was lucky to even make it out alive.
The poor pup was taken to Care More Animal Hospital in Martinez, Georgia, where vets found that he had burns to his head, face, and back, and would need round-the-clock care.
Taka might have looked a little different since the fire, but that didn’t stop him from capturing the heart of one Veterinary technician in particular, Crystal Lesley.
Crystal giving Taka one last kiss
Posted by Care More Animal Hospital on Friday, 4 January 2019
Crystal happily became Taka’s foster mom, but unfortunately, the pair ran into some problems early on.
Taka struggled to get on with Crystal’s other dogs and after he became aggressive towards them, Crystal was faced with the devastating prospect of giving him away.
“I didn’t know if I was going to be able to keep Taka and it was breaking my heart,” Crystal told KETK NBC.
Posted by The Canine Training Project on Thursday, 6 June 2019
Thankfully, somebody suggested that Taka attended Canine Training Project– and from that day on, everything began to change for the better.
Despite the fact that Taka was relatively old and lacked prior training, he took to the course like a duck to water. Crystal was immensely relieved that she wouldn’t have to give him up after all.
“I’m very proud of him,” she said. “He’s a very good dog.”
Taka was also quick to win over the heart of his trainer.
“I knew that there were some problems, some challenges that were happening, and I wanted to get in there and help,” CTP founder Mandy Foster said.
When Crystal realized how quickly Taka had taken to his training, it gave her an idea. Perhaps something good could come from his suffering.
Since Taka was a burn victim himself, Crystal decided that he would be a perfect fit for being trained as a therapy dog at the local burns center.
“They can be trained just like any other dog,” Mandy said. “Sometimes it takes a little bit longer, but in Taka’s case he’s nine-years-old and he has flown through his training. He’s brilliant.”
“He’s got the right temperament for it,” she added. “Of course he has the scars to show for it and he can relate to a lot of the people there so I think it’s going to benefit both him and the patients there.”
First on the list for Taka to complete is his Canine Good Citizen certification. After that, he’s able to start his specialized therapy dog training.
Crystal has been by Taka’s side since the very beginning, and she’s blown away by his incredible transformation.
She couldn’t be more thankful to Mandy for all the work she’s put into helping Taka.
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