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