In Romania, Sonia Antonela Costas has made it her life’s mission to protect the animals no one else will. Through her small, home-based rescue — Sonia’s Safe Animal Haven — she and her son, Alex, have saved hundreds of lives, often with help from partner groups like Inge2TheRescue.
One day, Costas received a call from her town’s mayor about a strange sight near a dumpster — something small and struggling inside a plastic bag. She rushed to the scene, not knowing what she’d find.
When she looked closer, her heart sank. Inside the bag were seven newborn puppies, barely two days old, trembling and crying for their mother.
“How heartless can you be?” Costas later wrote on Facebook.
Sadly, this kind of abandonment is all too common where Costas lives. Many people ignore the suffering of animals on the streets — but not her.
“People tell us that we’re crazy because we save animals,” Costas told The Dodo. “But we don’t care.”
Costas carefully gathered the puppies, wrapping them in a warm blanket and placing them in a box with a hot water bottle to raise their body temperature. Then she rushed them to the vet, where they were treated for hypothermia.
With help from local police, Costas managed to track down the person responsible for dumping the puppies — and miraculously, she also found their mother, still caring for one remaining pup. The moment Costas reunited the tiny family, the mother immediately began nursing and comforting her babies.
Now, thanks to Costas, the whole family is safe. She was granted custody of the dogs and will care for them until they’re strong enough to be adopted.
“[Their] future will be nice,” she said. “We will try to find them forever homes.”
From a trash-strewn alley to a warm bed filled with love, these puppies owe their second chance to one woman who refused to look away.
To support Sonia’s Safe Animal Haven, you can donate via:
RO87 INGB 0000 9999 1662 6212 (Romania)
And to follow more of Sonia’s rescue stories, visit her Facebook page.
