HOPE Dog Rescue: Darling Milo

HOPE not only cares for our street dogs, but we also provide assistance to low income seniors with their pets. Milo came to us through one such case. On 16 July, the uncle who was looking after Milo for a friend texted us that Milo was bleeding profusely from the mouth. With that text came horrifying pictures that looked like it came from a crime scene! We immediately arranged for Milo to be brought to the vet.

We received this photo from an old uncle, asking for help

At 12 years of age, Milo had a whole host of issues that were partly due to age, and partly due to negligence. His bleeding was due to teeth that were so rotten they had become infected. His teeth even had fur and food stuck in them and when the vet tried removing some of the fur, a tooth came out with it. He had pancreatitis that seemed to come and go. His testicles were enlarged and lumpy and he had a wart in his eye. He was also overweight and could not walk or stand on his own. At that time though, we thought that his most pressing issue was the state of his dental health and booked him for dental surgery to have his rotten teeth extracted.

Blood clots that came out of Milo's mouth

Even that vets had never seen such atrocious teeth

Alas, we quickly found out that he had other serious issues that needed attention. We realized that Milo was dripping pee and could not pee on his own. We also could not express his bladder so he had to be fitted with an urinary catheter. X-rays showed that he had several slipped discs and a compressed spine, which most likely were causing the paralysis in his hind legs as well as his inability to pee. Spinal surgery was the only option that may help him regain bladder function. So despite the risks of surgery due to his age as well as the prolonged condition of his spinal issue, we scheduled him for the spinal surgery that may be his only hope.

Milo fresh out of dental surgery

Milo required an MRI prior to the surgery to assess the severity of his spinal issue. The wait for an MRI is 10 days long as there are not many vet clinics with an MRI machine. Thanks to the resourcefulness of our vet, we got a call in the middle of the night to say that a slot had opened up at one of the clinics the very next morning. So it was a mad rush overnight as our volunteers sacrificed sleep to coordinate transport, volunteers and payment to ensure Milo gets his MRI the next day.

Milo was at the MRI clinic the whole day and was only returned to his regular vet at 9.30pm that night. He was still groggy from the GA then and did not appear well. Our hearts sank when the vet informed us the next morning that Milo was not doing well. He refused food and his breathing rate had increased and he seemed to be in pain. He was given more pain meds and gradually started to improve.

Milo back from his MRI scan

The MRI results came back after 48hrs and showed that he had severe compression of his spine and slipped discs in L2 to L4. Our main priority was to regain function in his bladder, or at least soften it so that it can be expressed. Our vets worked tirelessly to explore the various treatments to help Milo. The senior vet said that there was a sliver of hope that the spinal surgery would work Milo still had some feeling in the area which meant the nerves were still working. Even though, by this time, we had received many messages suggesting we put Milo down, given this sliver of hope, we were determined to do all we can to try and save his life. We also do not believe in prolonging his suffering, but if there even was a chance that he might recover from this and live out the rest of his days pain-free, we were going to take it. We owed him that much to try.

Teeth before and after dental

So we booked him for both dental and spinal surgery, both of which had to be postponed twice due to his fluctuating conditions. He started deteriorating over the next few days and we made the decision to go ahead with the dental surgery as it was likely the bacterial infection in his mouth that was causing his condition to deteriorate. Again, the senior vet saved the day by agreeing to do the surgery the very next day even though it was his day off. Not only did the senior vet work on his day off, he also managed to save all but 5 of Milo's teeth. Post dental surgery, Milo started to improve and could eat, drink and sleep on his own. He had a hole in his gum which needed to be flushed with water after every meal to make sure no food gets stuck, but all in all, he seemed to be on the mend.

Unfortunately, that did not last very long. His health readings started to deteriorate soon after again and his testicles became inflamed. The vet suggested we proceed with the spinal surgery quickly even though his health readings were not ideal. By this time, Milo had been warded in the vet for a month.

Extremely hard & swollen testicles

Aug 17 was a day we are not soon to forget as this was the day of Milo's spinal surgery. Our volunteers took time off their busy lives to transport Milo from his regular vet to the hospital where the spinal surgery would take place. The surgery took 4 hours in total, in which his eye wart and swollen testicles were also removed. Our volunteers spent all 4 hours around the vet vicinity, waiting with bated breath. We were all so relieved when Milo woke up after surgery from general anesthesia.

The 2 days after his surgery were rough. His blood pressure increased and he was in pain. His hind leg was swollen from the IV solution and poor circulation. However, that is now in the past and while Milo still has ways to go given the many issues he has from years of neglect, he is slowly but surely recovering.

The scar from his spinal surgery

We often say we can't take any more dogs in. Zeus left us with a hefty bill due to his spinal surgery. But Milo dinosaur came into our life and we just could not say no to this old sweetheart. He may never be able to prance around like a puppy again, he is a senior dog after all, but we look forward to the day we can take Milo out to the park in Harper's wagon.

A happy Milo <3

We would like to take this time to thank the vets and vet staff who did not give up on Milo, even when so many others were telling us to just put him down without trying. We would also like to thank our volunteers for their time and dedication in caring for Milo. And we would also like to thank our supporters, who have supported and contributed to our efforts so that we may continue to help Milo and dogs like him.