The dog, named Kabang, arrived in the U.S. in October 2012. Nearly a year before that she had most of her face sheared off after she threw herself in front of a motorcycle that was about to hit her owner's daughter and niece. The heroics to save the young girls have garnered her international fame.
A private organization called Care for Kabang raised the $20,000 needed for her flight and care.
When she arrived, exams and tests revealed that Kabang also had heartworm disease and a tumor that would require extensive treatment before dental and surgical procedures could be performed to deal with her facial wound.
Because it was not possible to reconstruct Kabang's upper snout, she will never look the way she did before the accident. However, the UC Davis veterinary team was able to close the facial wound to protect against future infection and reconstruct Kabang's eyelids and nostrils, procedures that prepare her for an active life.
Officials at UC Davis say Kabang has progressed through all the necessary procedures and has been given a clean bill of health to return to her family in the Philippines.
She'll be officially released from the William R. Pritchard Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital on Monday morning.
