Amazing Cassie [Adopt / Foster Cassie]

Cassie has been discharged and she needs a foster / adopter! 

Our dear girl has come such a long way. Her doggy angels must have been looking out for her as she literally landed on our lap!

When Cassie was found

A dog trapper was engaged to catch an injured stray dog in the area and he got Cassie instead. She was injured so badly that even he was horrified and called Fiona, the founder of Hope Dog Rescue and asked if she would help her and he would not charge any fees for catching and sending her to the vet. Imagine a dog trapper whose job is to trap strays, feeling sorry for a stray! Fate had intervened.

When Cassie was carried into the vet, she invoked deep pangs of pity and gasps of horror from everyone in the crowded reception area. The terror in her eyes, her skeleton frame and huge gaping wound on her neck was heartbreaking and the pain she felt must be excruciating. Blood dripped and maggots fell off her body as we waited for her turn to see the vet. 

She was covered in fleas and ticks and these parasites crawled all over her and even into her raw flesh. If she was left any longer in the forested area where she was found, she would not have survived as she was by then very weak and septic shock would have set in if she didn’t die from infection or starvation first.

Low self confidence and extremely timid

What’s truly heartbreaking was her demeanor at the vet after she was warded. For weeks, she curled in a corner and looked out at the world with fear in her eyes. She didn’t dare move at all and even in her hunger, she would not eat when anyone was near or looking at her. What has caused this reaction? She must have been ostracized by the packs in the area she was living in and attacked. A simple dog fight would not have caused a wound of this magnitude and she was most likely attacked by a pack of dogs that were out to kill. She does not dare eat when anyone is near; not even by volunteers trying to tempt her with the most tantalizing treats. She would not move but would just look on with longing eyes until they left and she could safely eat. We speculate that perhaps she was abandoned.

Cassie was warded at the vet for 2 months

Time has proven to be the best medicine. After more than a month at the vet, a volunteer finally manage to hand feed Cassie and she would eat even with someone looking on. Perhaps she finally realized we meant well and would not hurt her and she was starting to feel a certain degree of safety. Her horrific wound was by then almost closed and so she had to undergo a surgery to stitch her wound, as well as sterilize her. We needed to discharge her soon as the vet bills were mounting rapidly. It amounted to almost $10,000 for her 2 month stay, sterilization and surgery to stitch the wound when it was clean and healthy enough to be stitched.

Day of discharge

The day had come when we were finally discharging Cassie to a temporary foster home. Although she had recovered completely from her wounds physically, she still had a long way to go emotionally. She had come to see her cage in the hospital as her safe haven and was so stressed with having to leave the hospital that had been her home for almost 2 months that she left a trail of watery diarrhea from her cage to the carrier. She was rigid with fear and had to be carried. However, she wasn’t very appreciative with the special service and rewarded the vet tech with another burst of watery diarrhea which dripped down her pants. (So sorry about that, hope you managed to wash out that heavenly aroma from your pants; its Cassie’s farewell gift. :P)

Once she was safely transported to her temporary foster home, her explosive diarrhea continued and when she was taken out of the carrier, she stayed glued in the same spot for hours, crouched in fear. Thank goodness for patient volunteers who sat with her for hours, talking to her, stroking her head and calming her down amidst the unforgettable aroma of her watery poo.

Terrified of being in a new environment

We suspect that Cassie grew up in another location as a puppy, and had a caregiver. But when she was a few months old, perhaps her caregiver could no longer care for her and took her to the forested area where she was found, and abandoned her there. Having been fed as a puppy, Cassie did not know how to search for food and being in a new territory caused her to be savagely attacked by dogs protecting their own home.

Cassie behaves like a young dog and when she is in the presence of other dogs, she plays like a puppy and thus we think she might be just a year old. She has a good appetite (this is an understatement, she eats like a dinosaur!) and loves her treats. Since going to her temporary foster home, she has improved by leaps and bounds within a week, thanks to the efforts of our volunteers.

From jumping out of her skin, she now allows volunteers to pat, touch, hug and kiss her. She even had her very first bath without protesting. 

In 3 days, she paper trained herself and will now eat her meal when someone is beside her, although she still won’t pee / poo when someone is watching. She is still terrified of the leash but with her new positive attitude, we are sure she will overcome her emotional scars in no time at all.

Within a week she was getting less wary

Because we have not found a long term foster for Cassie, she has been staying with a volunteer and a team of 8 volunteers have been taking round the clock shifts to care for Cassie, preparing her meals, keeping her room clean and encouraging her to eventually leave her room. But this arrangement can’t possibly go on long term as the volunteers have been taking time off from work to stay over and help out.

She is now able to eat with people looking on

Cassie is alright with other dogs around her. In fact, she takes comfort in their presence. Ideally, she would do well in a home with one or two nice, calm dogs, guiding and encouraging her.

Learning to be a pet

The deep seeded fear of attack will probably take months or years to subside or perhaps never. Cassie doesn’t need expensive toys or a luxurious bed or even gourmet food, all she needs is a home where she can be safe and a patient caregiver who can shower her with love. You can see that in her eyes, she is tired from hiding and living in fear and all she yearns for is a home where she can eat in peace and a family who welcomes her into their ‘pack’.

Watch her video here.

If you are the family she is patiently waiting for, please email hopedogrescue@singnet.com.sg.