Brandy's Update

Once again, we are witness to just what an incredible tool social media can be. After the story of our latest rescue Brandy first went up (read it here if you have not already), her feeder happened upon it and contacted us immediately. We were happy to take her feeder, HP, to visit Brandy at the vet. 

Poor Brandy, in pain and in an unfamiliar place, was just lying listlessly in her cage and did not even know HP had come to visit her at first. But her demeanor totally changed when HP called her. She was as happy to see HP as HP was relieved to see her, and she jumped up to greet HP with her tail wagging non-stop like a propeller. HP told us that Brandy's street name was Puteh, which means white, even though she has her lovely brown patches. Brandy was born some time in 2009, and HP and friends have been feeding her since then. Brandy was 1 of 4 puppies who were dumped at the site by someone in a lorry, according to a security guard who had witnessed it. They were about 4 months old then, and the security guard had taken it upon himself to feed them. When Brandy was 6 months old, HP did the responsible thing and sterilized her and has been in charge of feeding her each night since then. Talk about commitment and dedication!

Imagine spending her entire life as a stray

Of the 4 puppies, Brandy is the only one left on the streets. 2 of her siblings were taken to a shelter after their sterilization, for their own safety, as they enjoyed chasing bicycles and the boss of a nearby factory had lodged a complaint against them. 1 other had taken ill a few years ago and passed on. Brandy loved her freedom and was a little wary of people so was not easy to catch. But she managed to stay out of trouble as, unlike her more enthusiastic siblings, all she wanted to do was take long naps at bus stops or under lorries. 

Brandy has a shoulder (scapula) fracture and the sling is to restrict movement, for her bones to fuse together.

HP reckons that Brandy's accident may have taken place on Saturday night as she did not come out to eat, and they could not find her. She must have been in so much pain after getting hit by a car, and went into hiding. Brandy has since been discharged and staying temporarily with a volunteer as no one has come forth to offer to foster her. She is on pain medication for her injury and is also being treated for her ear infection and heartworm. Though a little depressed, she is eating well, and absolutely lights up when she gets visitors. She also had her first bath experience at the vet. She is fitting her old street name more, now that some of the "brown" have washed off! Her injured leg has been put in a sling, to prevent her from moving it too much or resting any weight on it so that it can heal properly. Her arm would need to be in a sling for 2 months or so for the bones to fuse back; she has a fracture on her shoulder.

Brandy is gorgeous! 

Brandy needs help with her vet bills and a foster who can keep her confined in a room and feed her meals and medication twice daily. Also, since she is used to going wherever she pleases, whenever she pleases, she will try to escape so her foster home should be doggy-escape-artist-proof.

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

Written by: Sam

Brandy. Shaken, Not Stirred

Just another HOPE rescue day. We received an email from a lady, Monica, who told us about an injured dog lying at a bus stop in the Jurong industrial area. She said that she had tried to feed the dog but it was too weak and unresponsive. Not knowing what else to do, she emailed us for help.

In pain and lying under a parked lorry to rest

Brandy, unable to use her left front leg

A HOPE volunteer happened to be in the vicinity and went over to investigate. Monica had told us that the dog was a brown male. The first dog she spotted was a white female with brown patches. Not fitting the description, our volunteer circled the area a few more times looking for the brown male. After driving around for a while and not spotting the brown male, she made her way back to the white and brown female she spotted earlier to check up on her. As our volunteer approached her, she tried to stand and that's when we knew that she must be the dog Monica was talking about. Her left front leg seemed broken and swollen and she was not bearing any weight on it. Her eyes were all red, and she had abrasions on her face, around her eyes, and on her tail – all signs that she may have been hit by a car and dragged a distance. Our volunteer was alone and not equipped to catch her, so we called SPCA for help. Our volunteer sat in the sun and waited with the dog for SPCA to arrive. While waiting, the dog moved to lay down under a parked lorry to rest. This was a good thing as we did not want to risk her running off and getting hit by a car again. SPCA arrived and took her back to their shelter. We then paid a transport company to pick her up from SPCA and send her to our regular vet.
 
Brandy's video  https://youtu.be/wuZOQboiu4I

Checking her teeth and gum colour

Strays have a hard life on the streets. It is hard for them to find food and shelter. And more often than not, they become victims of hit and run of people who don't place any value on animals' lives and don't bother to slow down for them. Maybe, sometimes, it is hard to avoid hitting an animal who have not learnt to look left and right before crossing. And maybe, you really cannot take the time off your busy schedule to take the dog to the vet yourself. But, is it too much to ask to call someone who may be able to help rather than leave the animal to suffer in pain and possibly die a slow and painful death? In this case, we got lucky and a kind Samaritan thought to contact us even though she did not know for sure if we would help. Better to have tried and failed than not to have tried at all. The dog, whom we now call Brandy, is the sweetest dog. She wags her tail even though she is in pain. We may not have had the chance to meet this sweet girl if not for Monica.

Examined at the vet

At the vet, a blood test and x-ray were taken. The x-ray showed a fracture in her shoulder blade. Her eyes are very red, and the vet thinks that she may have been hit from the back, fracturing her shoulder and the impact caused the vessels in her eye to burst. The accident may have happened about 2 days ago as abrasions are drying up.

This x-ray shows metal shards in her tummy

Fortunately her front legs are uninjured 

Her shoulder fracture

Though her front left leg and paw were slightly swollen, the vet reckons that these may be due to an older accident. Upon further examination, the vet found her radial nerves on that leg weak and she was knuckling a little. This was common in dogs who are suffering from neuropraxia, which is often caused by trauma to the nerves. And the news just does not get any better. Brandy's spleen and liver are enlarged, and so is the right side of her heart due to heartworms. She also has an infection in her right ear, which is causing it to be wet, sore and smelly. She also has skin issues, and her whole body is pink or slightly raw. The x-ray also showed that she has arthritis in her lower back, which leads the vet to think that she is not a young dog, probably around 7 to 8 years old.

Brandy will need to stay at vet for 5 days. The good news is that no surgery is required as the vet says the bones will fuse back on their own in about 1 to 2 months time. In the meantime, all she needs is bed rest and her left front leg to be put in a sling. This is to prevent her from walking and putting pressure on that leg to allow the bones to fuse back together properly. 

Tomorrow, the vet will start her on injections to treat her heartworm. She is now put on drip and pain medicine to stabilize her condition. 

If you can help with Brandy's vet bills, please email hopedogrescue@singnet.com.sg. 

Written by: Sam

Matthieu’s and Harper’s Very First Sentosa Outing

How many times have you been to Sentosa? Or out to a shopping mall, to the park or just out from home to any place other than school or office? For our dear rescue dogs Harper and Matthieu, an outing is a luxury. Although dedicated volunteers walk them every day, the radius of their travel never extended 500m beyond their foster’s home as they have weak legs from their accidents and are not able to walk long distances. 

Happy tongues from Harper & Matthieu, from Sentosa!

This was until last month, when Hope Dog Rescue decided to organize a very special outing for Matthieu and Harper to Asia’s Favourite Playground, Sentosa! Finally, Harper and Matthieu could leave the comfort of their home and explore more of Singapore. Imagine the dogs’ euphoria when they were at Sentosa! 

Our favourite old man, still so handsome at 14 years old

For Matthieu, this was his first foray into a place away from his foster home in three years. Matthieu is about fourteen years old now and apart from the factory that he came from and his foster home, he has never been to any fun place. His life is worlds apart from our pet dogs at home that get to visit dog cafes and parks every now and then. This was also Harper’s first time at Sentosa, so imagine her delight. Both Harper and Matthieu could not contain their excitement. Their exhilaration bubbled over to the volunteers and everyone was really high-spirited.

The ladies' man

Blessed with clement weather, Harper and Matthieu were as happy as larks. They were like excited little children at a playground and could not stop smiling. We found a nice large green patch of grass near the beach that Harper, Matthieu and the volunteers chilled on for a few hours, in between walks and photo requests from random tourists. Yes, Harper and Matthieu were hits with the tourists! They were such stars. Everyone commented on their cuteness and sweetness and a few of the tourists asked if they could pat Harper and Matthieu and take photographs with them. Harper and Matthieu were overwhelmed by the attention that they received.

Matthieu getting photo requests from tourists

Chilling on the sand while the sun set

After some time, one of our volunteers, Hui Juan, realized that Matthieu kept turning towards the beach wistfully and seemed to yearn for the beach very much. Although Hui Juan was worried that the soft sand might not be good for Matthieu’s spine, she finally caved in and brought him there for a short while. After all, what is an outing to Sentosa without some sand and sea? Matthieu is in his twilight years and should be able to enjoy life. Matthieu loved lying on the sand and did not want to go home. Hui Juan had to carry him back to the grass. Aww… We will bring you back to the beach another day, Matthieu!

Harper ran around the grass with wild abandon. We are so in awe of her and really forget that she is on wheels sometimes, because she runs faster than dogs without any disabilities and has such an indomitable spirit. It has been some time since we have seen Harper run around so happily. We will bring you out more often, Harper!

Against the setting sun, our doggies had their last walks at Sentosa and parting photographs taken with the volunteers. It was a long day for the doggies and at the end of the day, we could see that they were tired, although they did not seem to want to go home to rest. They are so cute huh, like little children!

Next month, we intend to bring the doggies to Sentosa again! Would one of you kindly offer to fetch the doggies to and from Sentosa pawtty please, so we could save on transport charges and channel the money towards more pressing needs? We would like to bring Sida along too and would require volunteers to help to hold our doggies in the car. Won’t you join us? Email us at hopedogrescue@singnet.com.sg now to express your interest! Thank you! *hugs and kisses from the doggies*

Written by: Weiling

World Animal Day 2016

Why We Do What We Do?

Started in 1931 during a convention of ecologists in Florence who wished to raise awareness for endangered animals, World Animal Day is now observed in countries throughout the world on the 4th of October, as a day to celebrate our love and respect for all animals.

Dogs featured : SiDa on wheelchair with Mary in front. Both are available for adoption.

Volunteer, Jolyn and Mary. Mary is available for adoption; HDB approved

MISSION OF WORLD ANIMAL DAY

To raise the status of animals in order to improve welfare standards around the globe. Building the celebration of World Animal Day unites the animal welfare movement, mobilising it into a global force to make the world a better place for all animals. It's celebrated in different ways in every country, irrespective of nationality, religion, faith or political ideology. Through increased awareness and education we can create a world where animals are always recognised as sentient beings and full regard is always paid to their welfare.*

*Source: http://www.worldanimalday.org.uk/

Evangeline and Audi. Most of our dogs are good with children; tried and tested. 

NTU students doing their part for the dogs

For us at HOPE Dog Rescue, World Animal Day stands for a time to celebrate our amazing relationship with our beautiful dogs and cherish the many ways in which they enrich and fulfill our lives. From the very first day we have held strongly to the belief that it is all about saving our street dogs, doing all we can to give them a renewed chance at life, and showing compassion and empathy to those who have known none. It is our vision and hope that all street dogs can find a home they belong to, and be love and cherished.

Volunteer, Lois, with Mathilda; a lovely brindled coloured dog, waiting for her forever home

Volunteer, Ram, with Mathilda

On this day, we would also like to take the opportunity to affirm our commitment as well as give our deepest appreciation to everyone who has played a vital part. THANK YOU to all our lovely and selfless volunteers who have put in heart, body and soul to help ease the transition for our dogs so that the adoption process goes much more smoothly. Without your help, the rehabilitation process would not have been possible! To our adopters, a BIG THANK YOU for extending your family, home and heart to the street dogs of Singapore; for believing in them when no one would and beyond that, allowing them to know the true meaning of love and giving them a new chance at life!  

Volunteer, Cheryl, drying Mary after her bath

Volunteer, Michael, with Happy; a gorgeous black female, waiting for her forever home

Volunteers Ying Jie & Mabel with Mary, Mathilda & Vera. (L to R)

Written by : Wee Yen
Photography by : Dean Chua