When Takis — real name Theoklitos Proestakis — got a phone call before sunrise about a puppy abandoned on the side of the road, he didn’t hesitate. He jumped in his car and rushed to the spot, bracing himself for what he might find.
What he discovered stopped him in his tracks.
Curled up on the roadside was a tiny puppy, no more than two weeks old. And attached to her fragile body was a paw so swollen and oversized that Takis had never seen anything like it before.
“Oh, this is crazy,” Takis said in a video shared with The Dodo. “She’s only two weeks old.”
Takis, who runs Takis Shelter on the island of Crete, Greece, knew immediately that the puppy needed urgent help. He carefully scooped her up and drove straight to the veterinarian. There, the news was frightening: her injured leg was so severe that amputation was being discussed.
But Takis wasn’t ready to give up on her.
He asked the vet if they could wait — just a little — to see whether her massive paw might heal on its own. And against the odds, the tiny puppy began to prove everyone wrong.
Takis named her Zena, and day by day, she grew stronger. She ate well, drank well and showed signs that her leg was improving.
“Her leg is better than before,” Takis said, “but still very big.”
As the days turned into weeks, the swelling slowly went down. Zena’s once-giant paw continued to shrink, and Takis watched in awe as her body healed itself — just as he’d hoped.
Before long, Zena’s leg looked completely normal. The injury that once threatened her future had vanished, and she was running, playing and thriving like any other happy puppy.
Takis knew then that trusting his instincts had saved her leg — and her life.
When Zena was healthy and old enough, she found her forever family. Today, she lives in France, where she spends her days running freely, playing without limits and soaking up love.
If Takis hadn’t answered that early-morning call, Zena’s story might have ended very differently. Instead, the puppy once abandoned on the roadside is now living the joyful life she always deserved.
