The other day, veterinarian Ogün Öztürk was called to a small village in Turkey to attend to a client’s cow. He hadn’t planned on staying long.
But what began as just a routine visit ended as one Ogün won’t soon forget.
After wrapping up the job he’d come for, Ogün was about to leave the village. Before he did, however, something in the distance caught his eye.
There, trudging toward him on a path thick with snow, was a little girl. And she was not alone.
On her back was a pup.
Evidently, word had gotten around that a vet was in town — and that presented an opportunity which the girl, 8-year-old Cemre Su Türköz, refused to pass up.
Cemre’s dog, named Pamuk, had fallen sick. Desperate to get him help, she decided to carry Pamuk more than a mile from her home to the spot she’d heard that Ogün would be.
“When I first saw them, I was very surprised and touched,” Ogün told The Dodo. “She’d wrapped her dog up and brought him to me on her back.”
Ogün, of course, couldn’t turn Cemre and Pamuk away. While the little girl looked on, concerned, Ogün performed a checkup.
Fortunately, the dog’s sickness wasn’t all too serious. Ogün found Pamuk just had some minor skin issues that were making him uncomfortable, but which could easily be treated.
“When Cemre heard that her dog would be fine, she was very happy,” Ogün said. “I applied external parasite medications to Pamuk. He is now enjoying himself again, healthy and happily.”
The little girl and her dog had gotten help. But they also got a friend.
Ogün has been back to village to check in on Cemre and Pamuk, ensuring that they never need to brave the snow again to get whatever help he can provide. It’s the least he could do, considering the effort she’d put in to find him.
“It made me very happy that an 8-year-old girl behaved in this way with such a loving heart,” Ogün said.
Ogün didn’t charge Cemre for his services that day. Just seeing her love and devotion to Pamuk was the best payment he could ask for.
“The fact that a person at such a young age exhibits this behavior gives hope to humanity,” Ogün said. “With all that’s going on in the world, there’s still hope. Cemre showed us that the only truth in the world is love.”