It started with a call about a dog left in a cardboard box outside a 7-Eleven in National City. The clerk said she’d been there for hours, whimpering but too scared to move. When our Animal Alliance of San Diego team arrived, we found a skeletal, matted husky mix—maybe two years old—with eyes full of fear and a deep gash on her hind leg. She flinched at every touch but didn’t growl. That quiet resilience told us everything.

The Rescue: A Race Against Time

Luna (named after the moon we carried her under that night) was in worse shape than we thought:

• Severe malnutrition (23 lbs underweight)

• Untreated wound infection (now septic)

• Heartworm positive
  Our vet team worked through the night stabilizing her. For weeks, she slept on donated blankets in our medical ward, hooked to IVs, her breathing shallow but steady.

The Turnaround

Then came the miracle. On day 22, volunteer Sarah brought her homemade chicken broth. Luna licked the bowl clean—her first voluntary meal. That small victory sparked a transformation:

• Week 5: Tail wagged during physio

• Week 8: Played with a squeaky toy (a first!)

• Week 12: Passed her heartworm treatment

The Perfect Match

Enter the Garcias—a family who’d lost their senior husky six months prior. When they met Luna, she immediately leaned into 10-year-old Mateo’s lap. Today, she:
✓ Hikes Cowles Mountain every weekend
✓ “Helps” with math homework (by stealing pencils)
✓ Sleeps curled around their cat, Mochi (yes, really)

Why Stories Like Luna’s Matter

Her journey is why we fight:

1. For the 300+ animals abandoned monthly in San Diego County

2. For the volunteers who bottle-feed kittens in bathroom stalls at 3 AM

3. For donors whose $20 covers a life-saving antibiotic

You write the next happy ending.