Maëlle Girard and her boyfriend Gilles Manzato were on their way to buy furniture for their new home in Bali in June 2015 when they spotted a tiny brown animal on the side of the road.
As they slowed down their scooter, they could see that she was no wild creature, but a little abandoned dog in a terrible state. “We drove past a tiny puppy on the side of the road, trying to hide in the grass,” Girard told The Dodo. “I actually thought it was dead and told Gilles … but he thought it was breathing.”
They had only moved to Bali recently and had no idea how to help, so they drove on — but quickly realized they couldn’t leave the little puppy behind.
“We arrived at the lamp shop, but we couldn’t stop thinking about it,” Girard said. “So we drove back to the same spot and the puppy was there, trying to stand up. When we stopped the scooter, it walked towards me and I picked it up. I tried to ask around if someone knew what happened, but no one could help, so we brought it home.”
The frail puppy, whom the couple named Ika, was far too young to be on her own, and had lost most of her fur to scabies.
“Our first plan was to hand her over to a rescue shelter, but we instantly fell in love with her,” Girard said. “I remember the first nights, her skin was so itchy she would scratch constantly and cry at the same time.”
Poe will go to her forever home in October, and it will be thanks to the help of her loving dog friends.
Girard and Manzato could have never predicted the change that would come from showing compassion to one little dog, but for the street dogs of Bali, it’s been nothing short of a miracle.