According to the source, the dog had been left in the backyard, which offered little shelter from rain or heat. Did this poor little dog have food? Apparently, according to the source, there were kind people, and occasionally, the owner, who gave him food through the bars of the gate.
There was a note on the back gate:
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| "DOG FOR ADOPTION TOO BUSY TO CARE FOR IT IF ANY ONE KIND ENOUGH, PLS CALL ..." |
We sent the info to our volunteers, who rushed down to look for this dog as soon as they got off work. At first, we had trouble locating the house, because the dog was in the backyard and you couldn't see him unless you walked along the drains at the back of all the houses.
So we asked around the estate, and finally managed to find the right house.
When we saw him, he was lying in the backyard. It was raining, and he was wet. He was staring quietly at the gate, probably still waiting for his owner to return. Our hearts broke. The dog barked when he saw us. He was afraid and confused.
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| Scared and all alone |
Watch the video of Rusty being home alone.
Sources told us that he had been living there alone for many months now. The only other thing in that backyard was a small water bowl. In this heat, any water in that tiny bowl wouldn’t have lasted a few hours. That note was also tied to the back gate. The note could have easily been missed but thanks to the source who was alert and noticed otherwise this poor dog may have been left there even longer.
We called the number on the note, and the man who answered gladly and immediately agreed to give us the dog. Because he "had no time for it".
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| Standing in the rain at the backyard, hoping for someone to save him |
He met with us that night. As he cheerily handed the dog to us, along with a half-eaten packet of kibbles. He said that the dog was 4 years old, a male poodle, and they didn’t want him anymore. We asked if the dog had been fed dinner. He didn’t know.
It was a quick exchange. We were glad to take the dog, and he was glad to be rid of it.
In the car, the dog was overjoyed with all the attention and affection he was receiving. He was rolling around in the back seat of the car and purring all the way to our volunteer’s home. There, he drank a lot of water and gobbled all his food down. He wasn’t skin and bones as we anticipated, thanks to the people who fed him. But he was rather dirty. He had poo all over his rear, and was all smelly from being damp and constantly being in the sun and rain.
So after he was done eating (obviously he hadn't been fed dinner yet), we bathed him. He is very sweet and craves being petted and loved. Despite his long period of neglect, he shows no aggression, and is a very nice boy.
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| Nice & clean after a good bath and blow dry |
Today, we took him to the vet for a full medical check up. Unsurprisingly, he hasn't been sterilized yet, but he will be when he is ready. His ears are currently quite smelly from an ear infection, and his nose is red and sore, possibly from pushing the gate and trying to get out of the house. Apart from that, he seems to be in good health. His blood test results were all good, and he tested negative for heartworm and tick fever. He weighs 6.1kg. We named him Rusty.
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| Safe & happy from now on! |
Now, we are in urgent need of a foster home for Rusty. We don't want to put him in commercial boarding and leave him alone again. He needs some guidance as no one has ever taught him how to behave. He isn’t badly behaved but he is highly excitable, which is understandable because he has been living alone in an empty home, without any stimulation, for many, many months. He jumps a lot, and his foster will need to discourage this habit lest he hurts his back.
If you can foster Rusty, please email us immediately at hopedogrescue@singnet.com.sg
