Dog with half a face takes first steps towards normal life in N.J. (PHOTOS)

ROBBINSVILLE -- In a large examination room at North Star VETS hospital in Robbinsville, Teresa, a 2-year-old pup from Thailand sat patiently.

Her tail occasionally wagged as her new caretaker, Gloucester County resident Karen Quigley, fed her pieces of cheese and told her what a pretty girl she was, keeping her calm.

For Teresa, this visit could be life changing, either resulting in extensive surgeries or just a few procedures here or there. For Teresa, this trip could her help ease into a more normal life in the United States after narrowly escaping having her face mutilated by a man in Thailand who planned on eating her.

Dr. John Lewis, entered the room, joining Teresa on the floor. She cautiously hunched her shoulders and hung her head a bit lower, but after a few pets on the head and scratches behind the ears, she allowed the doctor to do his evaluation.

"Isn't she just beautiful?" said Quigley.

"She just has the most expressive eyes," Lewis responded.

Teresa made the 20-hour flight from Thailand on Saturday after Quigley and Michelle Weirich, another dog lover with a rescued pup of her own from Thailand, started a GoFundMe to raise the money to get her here.

Teresa was attacked in December, leaving portions of her face mutilated or missing, which is better than a fate suffered by many of the street dogs in Thailand. But somehow, Teresa escaped and was caught by a rescue in Thailand who reached out to Quigley and Weirich to step in and help.

After raising more than $10,000 for the pup, the women flew her to the U.S. with plans to help fix her face and find her a home.

On Wednesday, Dr. Lewis began the evaluation, looking at her nasal passages, left visible from the vicious attack but noted there wasn't excessive damage from scarring and that the area was healing properly. However, he wanted to be sure she could breathe properly and left the room to gather the equipment for the test.

He returned moments later, cotton ball in hand, stretching it to leave wisps of cotton poking out from his gloved finger tips.

Gently holding Teresa's head still, he held the cotton up to what was left of her nose and smiled kindly, watching her steady breaths blow the cotton.

"That's good, that's a good sign, she can breathe pretty well," he said, but added they would need to keep a close eye on that.

The doctor said Teresa would require minor procedures to cover exposed jaw bone with soft tissue, need a few dead teeth removed and need work to correct exposed or damaged nerves and roots in her gum. Her tongue, which was left thin and jagged around the edges, would need a little more work, however.

When the evaluation was through, Teresa tried to recoil in the corner, but just like any other dog, the sound of a treat rustling around in a baggie was enough to snap her out of it.

"Cheese, it's amazing how cheese works," said Quigley. "She loves her cheese."

Quigley joked saying how Americanized the dog already was after less than a week in the States.

"She's eating provolone cheese and lounging on the couch," she said. "It's so funny."

Lewis removed his gloves and laid out the game plan for Teresa's immediate future, a future that would require no major procedures or reconstruction that could make her more prone to complications.

"Well, she's just beautiful the way she is," Quigley retorted.

"We're just going to focus on removing any potential source of infection and pain," he said as he looked at the pup. "She doesn't look in the mirror and dislike the way she looks, she doesn't know she looks different. She'll be happy the way she is, as long as we can keep her breathing normal and keep her pain-free."

After setting up the next appointment, Teresa and her team of supporters packed up to leave the office to go back home to Washington Township.

"She's adapting well and this is another big step in the right direction," said Quigley. "She's just beautiful and happy."

Caitlyn Stulpin may be reached at cstulpin@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @caitstulpin. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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