ohmidog!

A dog who has been credited with saving the lives of two young girls in the Philippines — and lost part of her snout in the process — may soon be flown to the United States for reconstructive surgery.

Kabang reportedly “threw herself” in the path of a motorcycle in February.

According to the News Inquirer, the motorcycle had been speeding down a street in Zamboanga City, when cousins Dina Bunggal, 11, and Princess Diansing, 3, stepped into its path.

Kabang “emerged from nowhere” and jumped in front of the motorcycle. Neither the girls nor the driver of the motorcycle were seriously injured.

Kabang, owned by Bunggal’s family, was. Badly. Her snout got stuck in the motorcycle’s front wheel and the top of it was ripped off.

“The bones holding her upper snout were crushed, and we could not do anything to save it. We just pulled her off the wheel,” said Rudy Bunggal, Dina’s father.

The family refused to allow the dog to be euthanized.

“It does not matter if she’s ugly now. What is important to us is she saved our children and we cannot thank her enough for that,” Bunggal said.

While seeming to recover, and becoming pregnant, Kabang remains at risk for infections.

But between Kabang’s heroics, and help from animal welfare organizations, donations are coming in, and the family hopes to send the dog to the veterinary hospital at University of California in Davis to get the wounds fully treated and closed, according to Dog Heirs.

The trip and surgery are expect to cost $20,000. The Bunggal family makes about $3.50 a day.

“The more time that goes by, the more Kabang is at risk of infection … Her chances are better the sooner she can get those wounds closed,” said Karen Kenngott, the US coordinator for the Animal Welfare Coalition.

Meanwhile, in the Philippines, Kabang has become a “superstar,” the family says. ”People come here to have their photos taken with the dog. Some came with medicines and vitamins,” Bunggal told the News Inquirer. Others have donated money and clothes to the family.

“We are so thankful. We did not ask for those things, but still we are thankful.”

(Photo: From Alvin Sabay’s blog, The World Behind My Wall. More photos of Kabang can be found there.)