It’s easy to see the scars that Angel has on her face, but you shouldn’t tell her. The beautiful Belgian Shepherd was rescued from the Chinese dog meat trade in 2015, but not before the traffickers had already disfigured her.

Angel came dangerously close to being killed in the gruesome procedure that was about to take place until activists intervened and stopped a truckload of dogs on their way to the butcher. Angel’s face was seriously wounded as a result of the apparatus that was used by dog catchers to capture and transport canines.

After the surgical procedure that was performed in Beijing, Angel was transported by plane to the United Kingdom by Rushton Dog Rescue. Hollie Cornes, 25, just needed to take one look at Angel to realize that she wanted to give her a forever home. Even though she had surgery, she would still need extra work and treatments to let the dog live a long and healthy life. This is the case even if she has had surgery.

“Her nose was entirely shut over with scar tissue, so she wasn’t breathing through that side of the nose at all,” said Cornes, adding that Angel’s CT showed a 2mm hole on the other side of the nose. “Her nose was entirely shut over with scar tissue,” said Cornes. “Her nose was completely shut over with scar tissue.”

She came to the conclusion that she would ignore Angel’s looks and do whatever it took to ensure that Angel could breathe normally. She was concerned about upsetting the dog by acting in a way that was superficially motivated just by appearances. Individuals were kind enough to donate to a fundraising effort, and as a result, the beautiful Angel was able to have the operation she needed. Angel is reportedly doing well these days and is making the most of her life, according to Cornes.

We prefer it when stories have a happy conclusion, and we hope that Hollie and Angel have a prosperous marriage for many years to come…