When Lacey saw a photo of Totopo on Facebook, she knew she wanted to help him, even though she was based in New York City and he was thousands of miles away. “It was one of the most horrific photos I’ve ever seen of a dog,” she said.

Lacey reached out to Saucedo, and made arrangements to transfer Totopo to New York, where Lacey and the Animal Haven team would help him find a home.

“He just arrived a few days ago last week, and Matteo flew him here himself,” Lacey said last Tuesday. “He came with two other dogs that we accepted — one is named Temo and the other one is Clarita — and both of those [other] dogs are paralyzed.”