Kabang, the snoutless mutt from the Philippines credited with saving the lives of two young girls last year, relaxes in his caregiver's yard. (Don Preisler, UC Davis)

DAVIS (CBS) – Kabang, the Philippine dog that suffered a severely injured snout and upper-jaw while saving two girls from being hit by a motorcycle, has been released from the hospital after months of treatment at UC Davis.

The dog was brought to the veterinary medicine teaching hospital at Davis in October 2012 to be treated for the injury that left her with a gaping wound where her snout had been. But veterinarians found she had heartworm disease and a type of infectious cancer. A team of UC Davis veterinarians including specialists in oncology, infectious diseases, and internal medicine was assembled to treat Kabang, according to the UC Davis News Service.

“We were able to treat all of the complications that arose with the best specialists available,” Verstraete said Professor Frank Verstraete, chief of the hospital’s dentistry and oral surgery service.

Doctors weren’t able to make Kabang look the way she did before the surgery, but after a five-hour surgery were able to close up her facial wound, making her better prepared to fight infection and lead an active life after she returns home.

An examination on May 28, which included Kabang’s final vaccinations, found she was free of heartworms and ready to be released from the hospital.

Kabang is considered a hero for leaping into the path of a motorcycle heading toward two young girls, the daughter of the dog’s owner and her cousin, in December 2011. The dog’s face became embedded in the bike’s front wheel and her nose and top of her jaw were ripped away when the bike flipped.

Kabang’s actions captured the attention of the news media in the Philippines and eventually hundreds of people around the world who provided funds to the organization “Care for Kabang” for her nearly eight months of treatment.

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