Abigail, a one-year-old pit mix, was found as a stray in Miami, Florida, with the entire side of her face ripped off. She was matted, manged and dirty, and smelling of infection and death. Based on her injuries and mutilations, it was determined Abigail was a suspected victim of dog fighting.
Luckily for Abigail, Victoria Frazier from Love is Fur Ever Dog Rescue, found her listed on a Facebook page and immediately came to the rescue. Abigail was brought to the rescue’s vet clinic just in time, as her injuries were at least a week old and she had likely been left for dead.
Abigail was in the hospital for weeks and underwent surgery to transfer neck tissue to her face. Her bandages had to be changed two to three times a day because her wounds were so extensive. Gauze was wrapped around her head in a bow shape and one day, Victoria optimistically noted that the bandages looked kind of like a bonnet. From that moment on, Victoria would cover Abigail’s bandages with actual bonnets, and from there grew “Bonnets for Abigail” – a Facebook page that flourished with support. People loved Abigail and began sending her bonnets from all over the world.
After day 18 at the hospital, Victoria finally took Abigail home to finish her recovery. Victoria grew very attached to Abigail, but as a foster mom, Victoria’s job was to vet her pups, feed them, love on them, teach them how to love others and then let them go. There were several hundred applications to adopt Abigail, but a local TV reporter, Megan Steike, and her husband Jason especially stood out.
When Megan and Jason adopted Abigail, they agreed to continue her social media page. The support for Abigail was overwhelming and the bonnets kept coming. Abigail brought so many people together – Victoria, Megan and Jason, as well as her thousands of Facebook fans. There’s no denying that Abigail knows Victoria is her hero, and Victoria remains a part of their family forever.
Every dog deserves to live a pain-free life and unfortunately for Abigail, she was forced to live a terrible life at the beginning and has the scars to prove it. But now, she serves as therapy dog and helps others with their own scars. Abigail is proof that animals are truly resilient. She remained so trusting despite her hardships and she continues to teach forgiveness every day.
Abigail was honored as the American Humane 2017 Hero Dog of the Year. And, just recently, Abigail was featured on Disney+’s newest episode of ‘It’s a Dog’s Life.’ From fight dog to therapy pup, to Hero Dog to Disney princess, the inspirational Abigail has worn a lot of hats in her lifetime… or should we say bonnets.
