Sophie, a five-year-old dog, was found in mid-February in a dump in Tijuana, Mexico. She was sitting on a worn-out blanket among mountains of trash, her body covered in scars, and her ears were bleeding. Sophie had been used by a breeder, forced to give birth to litter after litter. The examination at the vet’s office also revealed that she had been used as a bait dog, evident by the numerous scars and wounds on her body.

Nikki Audet, who found Sophie, said the vet had seen wounds like hers before from dogfighting victims. In addition to her scars, all of Sophie’s teeth were ground down to prevent her from defending herself. “Some of them were ground down to the roots,” says Nikki.

Therapeutic baths, antibiotics, care, and love helped heal the wounds on Sophie’s ears and neck. Every day, she got better. Despite all she had been through, Sophie loves people very much. She is willing to snuggle up to anyone she meets along the way. However, her past experiences have left her terrified of other dogs. When she sees another dog, she clings to a person’s legs or crawls into a corner to hide.

To help Sophie overcome her fear, volunteers enrolled her with a dog psychologist. She now attends training school, where she’s learning to accept other dogs. If Sophie’s caregivers feel the exposure to other dogs stresses out Sophie, they will discontinue the classes. They don’t want to traumatize her, so it will be up to her.

Until Sophie is fully recovered, she will be under the care of volunteers. She realizes she owes them her life and won’t stop thanking them for saving her. She now has a bright future ahead and her rescuers are convinced she will find a loving home soon.