We apologize for the
delay in providing Bobby’s updates. As usual, we have been overwhelmed by
rescue work and where Bobby is concerned, there has been not much change in his
condition since he was warded almost 3 weeks ago, although he isn't getting any better either. He has been literally lying
in the same position, motionless and emotionless, standing only occasionally to
eat, drink or pee, as if waiting for death to overcome him. As a result, he now
has terrible bed sores, especially since he is just a bag of bones.
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| Bobby in the position as we found him 3 weeks ago |
Three weeks ago, a factory dog whom we named Bobby was rushed to the veterinary clinic. He was in terrible shape when we found him
– maggot wounds, fleas, ticks and dirt were found all over his battered body. It was a
terrible sight. He is still flea infested.
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| Look at the colour of the water! |
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| Poor Bobby's body was covered in scabs and dried blood |
For many who have seen
Bobby, they usually say he is rather emotionless. For those closely bonded to
dogs, they say that they feel Bobby’s deep sense of sadness. It’s as if nothing
you do for him in this life will erase that sadness embedded deep in him. That’s
such a sad thought considering we feel it’s our job to rescue a dog, turn their
life around and make them happy. He lies in his cage, showing no emotion, as if
numb to the years of pain he has suffered. His eyes don’t even move to look at
you. He is terribly detached.
When we visit, Bobby has no reaction to whoever that sits beside him. On the rare occasion
that he tries to move, his limbs seem to have no strength in them. When he
finally does stand, his legs slide apart and he struggles.
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| His old wound had somewhat healed |
Rather than keeping on
his brown coat, the vet had advised us to shave off his coat as he had lots of
fleas. The shaving was done over 2 days, a week apart, as each shave lasted
almost 2 hours and Bobby was starting to feel pain and get upset. Finally after
shaving, today our volunteers took time off from work to bathe him as he will
be undergoing a surgery soon and needs to be clean to minimize infection. Bobby
lay motionless as we bathed him and after he was clean, not only did we
notice more sores, we also noticed that he had lost weight and had become even
more of a skeleton. He is also a white dog! Not brown as we had all thought.
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| Helping him to stand |
As for his appetite, he
doesn’t seem to finish his food, despite the volunteers delivering home cooked
food to him on a daily basis.
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| Look at his swollen penis |
Few days ago, the vet
had a word with us. She said that she had noticed Bobby crying in pain when he
pees. All of us know how tough dogs are and how high their tolerance for pain
is. For him to cry in pain, we would imagine that pain to be quite intolerable.
When we first rescued him, his penis was swollen to almost three times the
normal size. From then till now, the swelling has gotten slightly worse and he
now drips blood. The vet now suspects a tumour. This painful condition could be
the cause of his lack of emotions and appetite. She had suggested a penile amputation and we had thought long and hard for 3 days before agreeing to it.
Unfortunately for Bobby,
there are no other options. When he pees, not only does it cause him severe
pain, the pee also flows backwards and doesn’t come out entirely, thus causing
infection. If we opt not to operate, he will continue to live in pain till
death overcomes him. If we operate and amputate his penis (about 10cm), the vet
will then reconstruct and create another opening for him to pee. Once he
recovers, he will then be able to look and pee normally. There is a high risk
that Bobby may not make it as he is very thin, old, weak, has tick fever and a
heart murmur but sadly, it’s a risk we have to take. His surgery takes place on
Wednesday afternoon. We pray that he makes it and that it will take away all
his pain and he will be a happy dog once again.
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| Nice and clean and back to his usual position |
The surgery will take
slightly more than 2 hours and cost about $2500. We have promised Booby that as
soon as he is ready to be discharged, we will find him a home where he
experiences love and be surrounded by people who care. It’s the least we could
do for him.
If you would like to adopt Bobby, please email hopedogrescue@singnet.com.sg. He would require a family that would not leave him alone for long
hours.
If you can help again with his vet bills,
Bobby and us would be truly grateful.
Story and photographs contributed by Ong HK, Lisa, Michelle and Velda.