Monty was petrified.

It had been almost a week since his accident. He was desperate for relief.

The deep burns on his head, front leg and back were open, and infection had already set in.

How long could he endure the pain?

Inspector Flo could tell he was hurting. He growled when she approached him.

Monty didn’t know it yet, but he was about to get the help he needed.

You can become a Guardian Angel this Christmas and help care for and protect animals like Monty.

By becoming a Guardian Angel, you can make animals’ lives better, and give them a second chance this Christmas.

We’re still not sure how Monty got burnt so badly. His owner was cooking dinner when she turned away for a second. In that short time, Monty had jumped up on the bench, and a pot of hot oil had tipped over.

Monty yelped in pain. He was taken to a vet straight away, but his owner was worried about how much it would cost. She didn’t have a lot of money, but she knew that Monty needed urgent help.

The vet she went to examined Monty and gave his owner some ointment to apply on the burns.

She took poor Monty home and hoped it wouldn’t be too long before his sparky little personality returned.

But that didn’t happen. After almost a week of treating the burns on his neck, back and down his front leg with ointment, someone called the RSPCA because they were concerned about Monty’s condition.

That’s when Inspector Flo visited the property. When she met his owner, she could tell that they had been worried about poor Monty’s injury. But his owner did not know what to do or who to turn to for help.

Inspector Flo could tell Monty was in pain—he didn’t want to be touched—a sure sign that he was suffering.

Monty’s owner was so relieved to know that she could surrender him to the RSPCA. Now he would certainly get the care and treatment he needed.

Monty went to an external vet for emergency treatment first. They sedated him before treating his open wounds.

Some skin around the largest area of the burn had started to turn black. This meant that tissue was dying. Some pus could be seen oozing from the burns on his leg—a sign that infection had started.

It was so important that this be treated if little Monty had any chance of survival.

The vets carefully treated Monty and dressed his wounds. They also gave him a fentanyl patch to relieve his pain. He was now ready for his trip to the RSPCA Animal Care Centre in Malaga where his recovery could begin.

Some animals only stay in the RSPCA’s care for a short period of time before they find their new families.

However, for many more animals, just like Monty, their stay is much longer.

By becoming a Guardian Angel for a shelter animal over Christmas, you’re helping so many animals, just like Monty, to find their way back to health.

Just a day after arriving at the RSPCA Animal Care Centre, Monty’s dressing needed to be changed. The vets and vet nurses treating him noticed that the stitches in one part of his wound weren’t holding. The skin tissue there was not healing as fast as they had hoped. And patches of his fur around the burns had started to fall out.

In the first week that Monty was at the RSPCA Animal Care Centre, his dressings were changed daily.

Because he was getting pain relief, he wasn’t growling at people. His little personality was starting to shine through his trauma.

But he needed a lot of medication to fight the infection, and to manage his pain.

The vets and vet nurses also spent a lot of hands-on time with Monty. Each time his dressing was changed, the vets checked how his burns were healing.

They applied pressure bandages to help with the healing. He also had some medicinal grade manuka honey applied to help the skin to heal.

And his pain relief was managed carefully. His doses were gradually decreased as the pain subsided.

It wasn’t long before Monty was up and about in between his medical visits.

He soon got used to the animal attendants, the vets and vet nurses, and even spent some time in the offices. He seemed to enjoy the variety of his daily routines.

Monty’s wounds began to heal much faster than when he first arrived.

After a while, his bandages were removed completely, providing fresh air around his wounds.

To prevent him licking, he had a cone placed around his head. His tiny paws were bandaged so that he wouldn’t scratch at the healing patches of skin.

And his little personality began to shine. He was such a mischievous little character.

It’s this kind of care—not just at Christmas, but all year round—that makes such a difference in the lives of so many animals who turn to RSPCA for help.

Thankfully, little Monty’s wish to find a new family before Christmas has just come true. He’s recently been adopted and has taken no time at all to settle into his new life.

If you'd like to be a Guardian Angel for an animal in the shelter this Christmas, please click the button below today.