ESPAÑOLA, N.M. — The beautiful story of Pancho the heroic dog from Española Humane has made its away around the world and back again.

It started with a home invasion in Española. A teenager broke into a home and stabbed and kicked Pancho. That left him with a gaping neck wound and a slipped disk in his spine.

Pancho’s family drove hours between Santa Fe and Albuquerque for care. Finally, they landed at Española Humane.

“With time, steroids and the fortunate donation of acupuncture and laser therapy, he’s walking perfectly well now,” said Mattie Allen, of Española Humane. “He’s miraculously so healed up, his neck wound looks amazing. And it’s like, almost as if nothing ever happened.”

Fans around the world have been cheering him on for weeks. Allen shared the story of Pancho on June 6.

“I knew when I shared his story that it would, it would hit people right here,” she said.

Allen had no idea it would land her live interviews on network news and new fans from around the world.

“Getting letters from people in Japan, Singapore, Portugal, France, Mexico, Canada, all over the place,” she said.

One fan from Florida, who saw Pancho’s story on the TODAY Show on NBC, gave his thanks and some cash inside.

The popular WeRateDogs social media account, which hands out ratings to some of the best dogs around the world.

Pancho got the rarest – and highest – 15 out of 10 rating.

Omaha Steaks caught wind of his story. That led to the good boy getting ribeye steaks every day for the rest of his life.

There have been parties in his honor at Española Humane, topped with a custom cake and a local mariachi group serenading him.

Pancho later landed an even more significant spot in WeRateDogs history.

“Our number one dog of the year so far…is Pancho!”

Española Humane says Pancho’s story has brought 650 new donors. That has pushed them closer to their fundraising goal for a new clinic.

“We hope to more than double the number of free spay neuter surgeries, wellness exams and wellness procedures that we can offer our community for free,” Allen said.

They do about 7,000 a year now. They’re still $3 million shy of their $7 million goal for the building and the first few years of operation.

Stories like Pancho’s give them hope, though.

“It’s cemented where we’re getting there. We’re going to do this and that’s really exciting,” said Allen.

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