A dog who lost its snout while saving its owner’s daughter from an accident 10 years ago has died peacefully age 13.
Veterinarian Anton Lim, who looked after pet, Kabang, after its owner passed away six years ago, announced that the pooch died peacefully in the Philippines on May 17 aged 13.
Kabang suffered the injuries in December 2011 when she jumped into the path of a motorcycle, stopping it from running over her owner’s daughter and niece in southern Zamboanga city.
Lim flew the dog to the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine in the US for a snout reconstruction operation that lasted over five hours and although still shockingly mutilated, she survived.
(Image: @KabangThePhilippineHeroDog/Newsflash)
Veterinary Professor Frank Verstraete said doctors at the hospital performed surgery to heal her wounds, though they could not reconstruct Kabang’s jaw or snout.
Doctors had to first treat her for other ailments, including a tumour and heartworm, to ensure her wounds would heal.
They took skin from her cheeks, neck, and forehead to cover up sensitive areas that were exposed on her face during surgery in March, Verstraete said.
Kabang won widespread sympathy because of her injuries from what has been described as a heroic act.
(Image: @docanton.lim/Newsflash)
A nurse from Buffalo, New York, spearheaded a fund-raising campaign to bring Kabang to the United States for $27,000 (£19,000) surgery the because Philippine veterinaries could not treat her.
Lim said donations poured in from 45 countries.
“It is very fulfilling that at least our hope in humanity is restored,” he said.
Veterinarian surgeons had managed to close up the dog’s wound and also treated her for cancer and other conditions.
(Image: @docanton.lim/Newsflash)
The hero dog returned to the Philippines after seven months’ treatment in the US, much to the delight of its then owner, Rudy Bunggal.
The owner died in 2015 and Lim gladly cared for the dog in her final years.
Lim said Kabang did not show any signs of sickness or pain before passing away peacefully in her bed, and always maintained a healthy appetite, as seen in one of the clips.
To commemorate the hero pooch, Lim’s family said they will erect a statue on a boulevard in the city of Zamboanga in honour of Kabang.
The animal’s remains are currently buried in the family’s back garden, but they hope to relocate them to the statue site when it is erected.
