My name is Shoja. It means “brave” in Farsi. I am 11 months old. My mother and all my siblings were killed by City Hall officials, but I survived. I was so sad and frightened. I tried to hide in abandoned places, but I was hungry and I had to look for food. One night, a young man found me and he made me fight with his own very big and strong dog. I was afraid, so I began to cry but nobody came to help me. Even one time I was about to flee but the man hit me and pushed me back. Now, my leg was hurting me so much that I couldn’t even run away.
The big dog was biting and choking me and I could not fight back. At this very moment, a miracle happened! A lady called Mrs. Samira Moghadam from the shelter was passing by. She and her husband, Mr.Kashani, saw me. They got out of their car and after having a huge argument with that man, took me to their car.
My leg was broken, so I stayed in Mrs. EsnaAshari’s home for a while to receive medical care, and then I was taken to the Vafa shelter. I cried and cried all through the night for my first few nights there, but now, because I have other dogs and people who care for me, I am one of the calmest and kindest dogs at the shelter.
Fatemeh Motamedi
