Even after everything he’s been through, there’s a light inside this two-legged dog that never goes out.
It’s the same bright beacon that was seen around the world, that ended up saving his life.
Santo was hit by a car in Tijuana, Mexico. His injuries were so grievous, the people who found him decided he should be put down.
But when Angi Garcia met him, Santo’s will to live was just too strong. She decided she would do everything she could to give him a life.
That meant not only nursing Santo back to health, but finding him a real home in the U.S.
Garcia, who saves a lot of Mexican dogs, started networking with her animal loving friends, some from as far away as Belgium.
Donations began to pour in for Santo’s care. But his back legs had become infected and eventually had to be amputated.
To add to the dog’s troubles, one potential adopter after another fell through. It seemed a 2-legged dog who would always have to wear diapers was a tough proposition for a lot of people.
Still, Santo’s global guardians never gave up on him, donating and networking to find him a home.
He eventually found his way to a foster care with Eileen Taggart in Flagstaff, Arizona.
And from the moment he arrived, he lit up every room. And brightened every corner.
“He’s the happiest, most joyous little being you will ever meet,” Taggart tells iHeartDogs. “I take him around. He meets a lot of people and everyone says the same thing.
“It doesn’t matter who you are, you notice it.”
In fact, Santo tends to forget that he doesn’t have back legs — so much so that the only thing he’s really not into is the cart that was made just for him.
“He’s saying, ‘Look, I’m fine the way I am,” Taggart explains. “You really don’t need to give me this.’”
Of course, Taggart, like so many others, has fallen hard for this miracle dog. But she can’t keep him. With four other dogs in the house, Taggart can’t give Santo the time he needs.
But that may be where that great global network of animal lovers comes in again.
“There are people all over the world who network through Facebook to save animals,” Taggart explains. “Everybody’s all over the place. We all connect through Facebook. It’s amazing.”
So far, this global chain of compassion hasn’t managed to find a forever home for this sweet survivor — but Taggart has a place in mind that would be the perfect fit.
“He could be a therapy dog for someone who has traumatic injuries,” she says, “For him to walk into a room full of people who have suffered and to feel his happiness, I just think it would be so great.”
“I feel like he has a special purpose. Somebody needs him. And he needs somebody.”
Think that somebody could be you? Visit Santo’s Facebook page here.
