Mia - Our 9th Dog of Christmas

2025 HOLIDAY MATCHING FUND

"12 Dogs of Christmas - Mia"

This is a story about a dog whose heart is failing — and the miracles racing against time to save her.

This is the time of year we hope for miracles. Sometimes those miracles turn into dreams that come true. Today, we are thankful Mia is still with us to be able to introduce her to you, as our 9th Dog of Christmas.

Mia is proof that miracles do happen. She is proof that in a world where cruelty and neglect exist, there is still compassion, love, and someone who will fight for those who cannot speak for themselves.

Mia's journey to us began more than seven months ago when a scared stray dog running down the road jumped into the car of a stranger.  Only Mia knows why she chose that person, but she knew. She could sense kindness. She was brought to the shelter, hoping that her family would come to find her. Her family never came.   

Mia is such a beautiful girl that it was no surprise that she was adopted quickly from the shelter. The surprise was how quickly she was returned and how her personality had changed so dramatically. A scared girl from the start, Mia was even more afraid, afraid of the leash, afraid of the person. Only one of the staff members handled her. Then one day, her staff member became her friend. The next month, she got a new friend who worked with her every day. She hoped that Mia would feel more comfortable with other dogs. She got her into the Shy and Dainty play group. Slowly, Mia relaxed and made a friend, another Shepherd named Nyx. He had his fearful side just like she did, but together they were safe.

We told you that Mia was proof that miracles exist. Mia's journey from birth to now has been miracle after miracle. Her life is a miracle. The shelter she was in was a good shelter. Her friends there were her angels. They would have kept her safe until she got adopted again, no matter how long it took, but being adopted was not part of Mia's miraculous journey, at least not then. They just didn't know it yet.

When her friend scheduled Mia for a regular grooming session at the shelter, she was sedated. Then they learned that part of her heart was enlarged, and she had a heart murmur, and her stomach was enlarged.  The shelter decided they were going to euthanize her for "poor quality of life".    

Her friend asked if she could please do an ECHO and an abdominal ultrasound before making the final decision. The ultrasound of her stomach was completely normal. It was then that another angel stepped in to help with a cardiology consultation. Mia had a diagnosis, PDA (patent ductus arteriosus), a long name for a birth defect that can be common in dogs, but one that can limit their lives if they don't have surgery. 1 to 2 years is the common life expectancy. Mia is almost 2.   

Mia, the perfect name for this sweet girl. It means "beloved", and everyone who had met her up until the day of that diagnosis had fallen in love with her. They knew that day that she would never be adopted from the shelter, but they were determined that she would walk out of the shelter alive. They began searching for another miracle.  

When we got the news of Mia and all of the angels who were stepping in to help, we had to become one of her angels. Little did Mia know that there was someone who couldn't sleep at night just thinking of her being so afraid in the shelter. We had scheduled to make the trip in about 4 days time. She didn't know that they would wake up the next morning and make it his mission to get her out that day. He explained that all he saw was her face asking him to “come get me now, please”. Mia met her newest angel. She didn't know that she was the first dog to ever ride in a vehicle that was meant to save lives, the new Ride to Rescue Cycling team van. He said, “This is why we built this program”. She knew she had met a kind soul. She made herself comfortable and rode quietly for the next part of her journey.

Mia had another angel working behind the scenes, making phone calls, pushing for answers, determined to get her in front of a cardiologist as quickly as possible, determined to give her the surgery she needs to live. Mia is safe now, but safety doesn’t erase her fear. We can see it in her eyes, in the way her body moves, in how quickly she gets tired.

Mia has never known what it feels like to have a normal heart. Her heart beats to its own rhythm, louder, harder, struggling every single day. The exhaustion, the loss of body mass, the weakness slowly taking hold… for Mia, it is frightening. And for us, it is heartbreaking.

As of today, December 26th, Mia is now scheduled to undergo open-heart surgery in just two weeks. Every single day matters. Every day is too long. Until that surgery, Mia is carefully protected, kept calm, closely monitored, her heart never pushed, because even simple moments could be dangerous. The truth is painful, but real: without this surgery, any day could be her last.

So, all of those legs of her journey, the good ones, the bad ones, those are all miracles that brought Mia to Coastal K9 German Shepherd Rescue at just the right time. All of the angels who helped carry her to us made Mia's journey one miracle right after the other. But the real miracle is our beloved Mia. The fact that Mia lives is the real miracle.

Mia’s Surgery is well over $10,000. The Holiday Matching fund will help Mia directly. From now until January 1, 2026, each dollar you donate up to $65,000 will be matched. Please help us reach that goal for the dogs who have had such a miraculous journey and angels fighting for them, but also for those who have no one to speak for them. They pray for just one miracle, the one that will save their life.

Please help if you can.

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