This is a story about a Shihtzu. Yes, that is right, a Shihtzu. What? You may be thinking, how could there be a call for a Shihtzu to be adopted? After all, aren’t they one of the most desired pets and one of the cutest dogs ever? Well, all dogs are cute but Shihtzus are apparently one of the more popular breeds of dogs. However, it is strange that we have had a recent spate of Malteses and Shihtzus being abandoned.
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| How could anyone abuse this sweet, innocent soul? |
When you look at Amos, the main character of our story today, you would think ‘awwww so cuuuteee’… His eyes seem to be telling you ‘please shower me with love and care’. How could anyone bear to hurt a cute and tiny little dog like that? Yet, lamentably, there are callous people hidden amongst the decorous individuals in our ‘fine’ country. Amos is a black male Shihtzu, estimated to be 8 years old. Poor Amos was abandoned and left to fend for himself on the streets, rummaging for scraps and abused by heartless people.
Fortunately, there are still some kindred spirits in our modern and hedonistic society. A kind soul spotted Amos in the Tiong Bahru area for a few days surviving on orts. The straw that broke the camel’s back came when he saw Amos being kicked around like a soccer ball. How monstrous can people get? This caring man stopped the perpetrators in their tracks and tried asking who Amos belonged to, but no one had any idea. All they knew was that Amos had been hanging around the area for a few days.
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| Amos has bad skin and ringworms, most likely caused by neglect |
After that, the man very kindly brought Amos to the vet, asked the vet to check if he was alright, paid for Amos to have a skin culture and skin scrape as his skin condition looked bad, but he mentioned that he could not take him home. This was the point at which HOPE came into the picture. The vet called HOPE for help to take over the case, foster and help rehome Amos and we promptly agreed.
One of our volunteers, Lynette, met Amos at the vet and felt so sorry for him. To use “Poor Amos” to describe Amos seems to be an understatement. He was in such a pitiful state that one wonders what he did to deserve such a fate. Amos had problematic and patchy skin, was thin, senior and had unhealthy teeth containing plaque deposits. He also had not been sterilized. When Lynette opened Amos’s ears to check them, they were all wet with pus and so severely infected that they had become the site of fruit flies’ feasts! His ears had been so seriously infected that he must have been neglected for more than six months. Despite the excruciating pain and discomfort, Amos has given us his utmost cooperation in letting us clean his ears. Poor Amos also had nails that were way too long for him to be able to walk without hurting. This was another piece of evidence showing the gross neglect that Amos had suffered from. I find it utterly unfathomable how anyone can find the heart to cause Amos such suffering. His adorable face screams ‘I am just a little dog. Will you look after me?’ How can anyone bear to abandon him, let alone abuse him?
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| Look at how badly infected poor Amos' ears were; imagine his pain and discomfort |
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| Long, unclipped nails made it painful for Amos to walk |
As with all dogs that are under HOPE’s care, we did had a battery of tests for Amos; checked his ears, teeth, estimated age, joints for arthritis, blood works for kidney and liver functions, tick fever, heartworm, parvo virus and distemper. Amos has a bad ear infection and ringworms, minor issues that he will recover from, with some love and medications. Apart from this, Amos is in good health.
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| Eyes that plead for love |
Amos gets along well with humans but dislikes being caged up. He barks at the vet when he is caged up, but once he is out of the cage he is a good boy. Perhaps he is afraid of being left alone and abandoned again. Currently, Amos is looking for a new home. Will you give him one? He would be so grateful if you could give him a loving home!
Amos needs an immediate foster / adopter. If interested, please email Fiona at fiona@hopedogrescue.org.
We thank Dr Ang from Mt Pleasant Redhill for providing a bag of food for Amos and Andrinne for fostering Amos temporarily.
Written by Ng Weiling. Photographs courtesy of Lynette.
