We Caught Horlicks

Many of you may recollect our updates on the vacated factory. Remember an update on a particular dog that was shunned by the other dogs? This is him, Horlicks!

This was him living outside the factory because he was ostracized by all the dogs

He is one of the sweetest boys we have ever met. He really makes you wonder how he managed to survive on the streets, alone, all this time. Our volunteers recall week after week of going down nightly, sitting near him on the pavement for hours, spending time with this sweet boy, trying to gain his trust, and finally catching him. The shrieks of fear he gave out when we caught him still remain so vividly in many of our minds. It must have been a very bad experience for him, out in this big world all alone, with no friends and nothing. But we are so glad that we managed to save him from his solitary life on the streets.

The HORLICKS Team

After he was caught, Horlicks was sent to the vet for his checkup and sterilisation. He is estimated to be a little bit more than a year old, and very healthy. His wound was a little infected after the surgery, but after a follow-up visit to the vet and some medication, this boy is up and well again.

What a cute face!

He has been adapting well to urban life, and progressing steadily at his own pace. We have not been pushing him on rehabilitation because this boy is still very timid. He loves to play with squeaky soft toys, and entertains himself by throwing the toy with his mouth and then fetching it later. We used to be able to only touch him on the tip of his nose and not get any closer. Today, we can shower him with kisses on his forehead and rub his belly. We can clean his face with a wet towel after his meals and his paws after he does his business.

Horlicks is now ready to be fostered. The foster must be very firm (not fierce), and most importantly, very careful as this boy still is a very high flight risk. In a new environment, there is a high chance that he will try to escape. He is used to the volunteers, and will always lie down and ask for belly rubs, but he needs time to warm up to strangers. The foster must be very patient and preferably go along with his pace and not push him.

He is paper-trained and loves food. He never fails to finish all his food, which means that he is food-motivated and highly trainable.

If you have space in your home and heart for this lovely boy, for fostering/adoption, please write to us at hopedogrescue@singnet.com.sg. He is content with a roof over his head, food, squeaky toys and some belly rubs.

Updates On Baby (3)

Baby just had her hip surgery done on one hip. The other is fractured but the vet didn't want to put Baby through too much so decided to let the other hip heal on its own. The hip accident is rather similar to Zoey’s case where only one hip was operated on.

The senior vet said she can be discharged tomorrow and we urgently need a foster and a place for her to rest and recover from her surgery. Baby’s bladder has healed nicely and she is not incontinent, which is excellent news to us. Her hips still hurt, so she will whine a bit when she squats to pee. She is still on pain killers and will start to feel better as the days go by.

Due to the pain from the recent hip surgery, she has to be kept confined with minimal movement, and also to allow her bones to fuse. She can stand for very short periods of time due to the very strong painkillers she is taking. Baby is not fussy with food and you can mix her medicine together with her food and she will obediently munch it down, as if she knows she needs to take the meds to get well!

Baby will need wound cleaning as there is a small portion that is still oozing. Her foster must be able to clean her wound for her. She is also required to go back to the vet to change her bandage every few days. Despite Baby being afraid of the e-collar, Baby’s foster must ensure she has it on so as to prevent any accidents with her wound area. Baby should not be left alone for more than 4 – 5 hours.

In spite of the horrendous 2 weeks she has been through in agony, we are still able to discern Baby’s inherent sweet nature. She is an adorable doggy who is extremely affectionate. You can pat her head and stroke her tummy and she will lean her head down and relax in your company. However due to the stinging pain from hips, she is very wary when anyone tries to touch her hip area and will attempt to bite. Perhaps her circumstances have made her terrified about her surroundings and people (who wouldn’t, after being wreaked with pain for 2 weeks and going through 2 painful surgeries and seeing nurses and vets 24 hours a day), she tends to bark occasionally and will whine for attention. This poor little Baby must be scared out of her wits and terribly confused after all that has happened. One moment she is blissfully walking on the road, the next thing she knows, she was run over and couldn’t even stand without pain.

If you had followed Baby’s story and you would like to make her recuperation process a little easier on her, we are appealing for you to help Baby by fostering her and giving her a place to recuperate, even if its short term. Please email hopedogrescue@singnet.com.sg if you can help. Please also click to share this post. Who knows, Baby’s savior might be just round the corner.

Baby’s previous posts :
A Dying "Baby"
Updates On Baby (1)
Updates On Baby (2)

Written By Jamie Faith

Updates On Baby (2)

Is that a smile??

We have never been so ecstatic about poo before, BABY CAN POO! The volunteers visited Baby today and there was such a unanimous feeling of total relief and joy when the vet told us Baby pooed that it made up for all the worry and heartache we felt in the past few days. Her catheter is still attached and she is still on a special soft diet so as not to aggravate her injured bladder. Baby is eating well and is cheerier, she knows that she had received help and was very sweet and friendly when we visited.

Baby standing tall

She is able to stand for short periods of time. The senior vet had bandaged her hip area securely to hold her hip fracture in place, allowing her some freedom of movement while on painkillers. We can see how happy and appreciative Baby is to be alive and standing, and that makes us even more determined to see her to full recovery. Dogs are such amazing and resilient creatures and we do have a lot to learn from them.

Bandage to hold her hip together, allowing her to stand for short periods of time.

Baby's undersides are still terribly bruised and swollen

We would like to sincerely thank everyone who have helped in one way or another. We are short of $1000/- for her stay till this weekend. The vet has recommended she stay for another week or so, depending on her recovery process. Upon her discharge, Baby would need a foster as well.

If you can help with her vet bill or foster her, please email hopedogrescue@singnet.com.sg

We would like to thank everyone for being so supportive of what we do, and for giving Baby hope and the belief that she will soon be happy, healthy and well again.

Written By Jamie Faith

Updates On Baby (1)

We went to the vet to visit Baby today. It is apparent she is still in great pain despite being on very strong pain killers to help her cope. Baby is a very sweet and affectionate dog. She loves pats and will close her eyes to let you stroke her head. How sad it is that this stray who has never experienced the warmth of a home before can respond so well to human affections.

*Initial rescue story 

Sweet Baby is a rather big dog, resembling a hound. 

We had spoken to the senior vet and they reckoned that poor innocent Baby was most probably sleeping under a huge heavy truck, which went off and rolled over her in the centre, splitting her hips apart and pushing her bladder forcefully to the thigh, see the picture circled in red. Listening to this sent shivers down our spine. Predictably some parts of her bladder was totally damaged and the vet removed it during surgery. Those parts were beyond saving as there was no blood flow, just like a dead piece of flesh in her. Her bladder is now smaller than normal and she is still on a catheter. The vet advised to keep the catheter on for now and then remove it maybe a week later and see if she can pee normally.

As seen on the x-ray after dilating, poor Baby's bladder is indeed in her thigh region

A terribly bruised leg. The undersides are even worse

Baby still has not poo as it’s probably too painful to do so, so poo was cleared manually during surgery. She is on a completely soft diet and laxatives so as not to aggravate her current condition as forcing to poo would be extremely painful for her. 

Despite the constant agonizing pain she is going through, Baby is still so sweet, craving for that extra pats we give her. It is apparent that she had not known what it is like to be loved and cherished like a family pet. We are so heartbroken when we see this poor broken dog lying there just simply wanting some affection. We are also amazed and filled with admiration for Baby’s unrelenting strong spirit. Dogs are really tough creatures. Imagine when we have a cut on our hand and its hurts so bad that we complain and grumble about the inconvenience and the pain. But brave Baby had both her hips crushed beyond recognition, bladder displaced appallingly, having problems even to pee, in constant pain, yet she can lift her sweet little head to acknowledge our pats and kind words.   

Lower part of her body still extremely swollen

Baby is very scared of the e-collar as perhaps it limits her vision. She freaked out and shrieked when it was put on her so the vet removed it so as to keep her calm. But Baby seems to be a very understanding and a clever girl and never once chewed off her drip lines. 

When we visited her just now, her right hind leg is still very swollen. The other side of her body is even redder with huge purple bruises, the injuries consistent with a heavy truck that rolled over her. We were wordless with dismay and there were huge lumps in our throats as we see the huge angry purple bruises all over her small body. It makes us wince when we try to imagine the pain she is feeling.  

Our vet bill now is $7000/- and set to increase further due to the extra unforeseen surgeries. We still have not included Baby’s hospitalization stay for the next 2 weeks, the hip surgery and her medications. 

Thank you everyone for saving me

Despite the sadness surrounding Baby’s condition, we are very heartened and grateful for all those who have reached out and donated to us selflessly. Thank you very much for your kindness and believe that strays are worth saving. We have raised $3500 so far and are urgently appealing for more funds to help us cope with Baby’s vet bills.  

Please help us save Baby and share this post. Email hopedogrescue@singnet.com.sg if you can help in anyway. 


Written By Jamie Faith

A Dying “Baby”

We begin this post with a sombre mood and a heavy heart.

As usual, Sundays are spent checking on the dogs whom we feed regularly, usually in factories, construction sites and farms.

This particular Sunday, we received an SOS call from an uncle (Mr.R) who feeds strays. He saw a dog whom he has been feeding, lying on the road not moving. Alarmed and worried, he went over to check and realized that the poor dog (whom he had affectionately named Baby) was barely alive, trembling and wracked with pain from her injuries. She must have been a victim of a hit-and-run driver and was left there to die. Extreme fear and the throbbing pain made Baby react irrationally and she bit Mr R when he tried to carry her to move her to safety. Despite that, he still carried her gently to the side and called us for help. Even though Mr R was grimacing in pain from his own bite wound, he still sent Baby to the vet first so she could be attended to urgently. Such was the anguish in Mr R’s expression when he saw Baby whimpering pitifully from her injuries that we could not hold back our own tears. After Baby was sent to the vet, he then quickly left to seek medical attention for his bite wound, which he later received 15 stitches for. Before he left, he pleaded with us to help Baby as he could not afford the vet bills, and yet could never live with himself if he had just left her to die. Even though we are barely scrapping by with our meagre funds, we agreed because we knew he had no one to help him and poor Baby is an innocent victim.

Poor Mr R has to be on medical leave for weeks and the only biggest worry that is plaguing him is that he can’t go out to feed the hungry strays that wait for him daily. Such is the compassion of the human spirit that really inspires, motivates and encourages us in our heart-breaking rescue work. The food that Mr R uses is also partially supplied by Hope as we strongly believe in supporting the effort of the kind souls who have empathy and love for street dogs.

When the vet saw the extent of Baby’s injuries from the x-ray, he closed his eyes from the horrific image. One could not imagine the magnitude of the agony Baby is going through. Both Baby’s hips were crushed. When he further examined her, he noticed tire marks and huge bruises on the inside of her thighs and her legs. Her whole lower body was swollen from the impact and he had thought that her bladder was ruptured. The irresponsible driver must have been going at a high speed or not watching the road to be able to deliver such a lethal and disastrous impact to Baby. Those mere seconds of carelessness from an inconsiderate driver rendered a poor helpless innocent dog shriveled up and shuddering with tremendous pain. The injustice that raged in us when we see one of our own lying broken and defenseless is indescribable. The vet also had to insert a catheter as it was too painful for Baby to even pee. He had great difficulty inserting the catheter as her bladder was so swollen. It was only during the next day’s surgery that they realized that during the high impact, poor Baby’s bladder had been pushed and totally displaced! Despite being sedated, Baby cried softly while we discussed her situation. Pitiful Baby, confused, bewildered and scared out of her wits at her unfortunate predicament. The senior vet whom we consulted said had she not been saved in time, she would have died a slow painful death by the roadside.

Catheter inserted so she could clear her bladder, a mixture of infected urine and blood

Baby's lower body was so swollen from the impact

Terrible bruises and swelling on her inner thigh

Hind legs swollen from impact

Poor Baby was passing out blood clots

A surgery would set us back about $8000/- to insert metal plates and pins in both her hips and an estimated 10 days stay at the vet. The vet had said she would most likely need to stay 3 to 4 weeks as she would require daily wound cleaning and emptying of her pee bag, etc but since we can ill afford the $8000/-, we are praying we will find a foster upon her discharge.

Despite the long road to recovery, Baby would have a shot at a second chance in life and would be able to run and jump one day again. It would be a very complicated surgery as the vet would need to ensure that the nerves are not damaged in the midst of the surgery. However it is the news that Baby would be saved that lifted our spirits a little. Such a poor sweet innocent life should not be taken away so abruptly in such a grisly manner. Seeing Baby cling on to life fueled our strong desire to get her through this excruciating part of her journey. Her puppy eyes, although drained out from the agonizing pain from her injuries, seem to have the tiny glimmer of hope that the worst is over for now. It was fate that Mr R discovered her in time and got her to us. It is now Hope that we will cling on to, to raise funds for Baby’s surgery and a smooth recuperation for her. The journey for her is going to be fraught with difficulties. It is her unwavering desire to live that enabled her to cling on till now.

Minor scratches on undersides

Please, if the circumstance of Baby had touched a compassionate part of your heart, we are appealing for your help with Baby's vet bills. No amount is too small and we are grateful for every bit of your kind efforts in helping us rescue the abandoned, the destitute, the forgotten ones on the streets. The ones who are so appreciative of the little they have and yet given the harshest facets of life. Please email hopedogrescue@singnet.com.sg if you can offer us a helping hand. 

Baby sedated while the Vet examined her

Updates : According to Mr R, Baby is a female street dog, about 6 years old.

She has undergone one surgery (on 7 July 2015) to push her displaced bladder back in place. Thankfully her bladder was not ruptured. She will undergo her second surgery (on 9 July 2015) to repair both her fractured hips.

Written By: Jamie Faith