Pet lovers save stray dog with knife stuck in head

A stray dog named Bonbon was found on Wednesday, Nov. 9, with a knife stuck in his head in a mountain village of Cebu City. (Photo courtesy of Theresa Marie Vidal)

CEBU CITY — A stray dog found with a knife embedded in his head got the tender-loving care he needed from pet lovers in this city.

Good Samaritans brought the Aspin to a veterinarian for much-needed surgery after his rescue on Nov. 9.

Theresa Marie Vidal, an animal lover who led the rescue, said she learned about the dog through social media.

Pictures of the dog with a knife stuck in his head went viral on Nov. 6 after these were circulated on Facebook.

On Tuesday, Vidal said she, some friends, and rescuers went back to Sito Bandila in the mountain barangay of Bonbon to look for the dog but to no avail.

“We speculated the dog went into hiding or was too weak to walk and maybe just died wherever he was,” she said.

It was Jezzrel Tabal, an ambulant vendor, who first found the dog with a knife in its head in Bonbon last Sunday.

Residents reportedly tried to remove the knife in the dog’s head but the animal ran away.

Tabal posted the dog’s condition on social media on Sunday to get help from animal lovers.

Vidal said looking for the dog was an uphill climb.

“We searched everywhere: grassy areas and abandoned structures in the area. We asked residents living in Sitio Bandila, including students and habal-habal (motorcycle-for-hire) drivers (but to no avail),” she said.

After four days, Vidal and the other rescuers found Bonbon alive.

Vidal immediately brought the dog to Dr. Ryan Yandug, a veterinarian in Barangay Guadalupe.

At noon on Wednesday, the dog was in stable condition after the knife was removed from its head. The knife barely grazed his brain.

Rescuers named the dog “Bonbon” from the village where he was found.

Vidal thanked those who helped locate the wounded dog.

“Finding him was not easy. The road and the location are already a struggle. Thank you to those who reached out,” she said.

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