Taking time off from work to comb through tombstones is not what most people do. When we saw the video sent to us by fellow dog lover, Daryl, the urge to save the poor dog transformed us into Tomb Raiders out to save the world.
This was the video that started the search
The dog in the video has such swollen limbs, surely every step was excruciating for her. It pained us to see her ribs protruding from her body.
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| There were many dogs in the cemetery; everyone had their own place |
Our volunteers spoke to the workers and cemetery caretakers, who told us that she has been in this state for 3 to 4 months and had given birth 4 months ago. They didn’t know who to ask for help. They had seen another rescue group there but because the dog tried to bite, they didn’t manage to catch her. Workers expected her to die 2 weeks back but was surprised she is still hanging on to life.
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| This friendly one was sterilized |
And so we walked for hours, checking through rows and rows of tombstones, constantly apologizing to the dead, for stepping on their property, kicking into their food or imposing. We prayed to please let us find the dog before nightfall; we couldn’t imagine searching the cemetery in total darkness.
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| We spotted Daisy resting |
After some hours, we found a bony bum sticking out from behind a tombstone. We walked around to the other side to check if it was the dog we wanted. We didn’t want to go near, lest we scared her away. It indeed was her.
We prepared her food and her sedation pills and placed it where she could see. She was not interested in food, probably suffering from too much pain. We were so sure she would eat her food, fall asleep and we could catch her.
We didn’t have a Plan B.
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| Poor Daisy |
Suddenly she got up and walked away. As she walked, she hobbled because her legs were so stiff and painful. She couldn’t really walk fast. We decided we could chase her and keep her on the move till she tired out. We ran after her, round and round the tombstones, for almost 10 mins before she fell. This was when we had to keep apologizing as we were stepping and climbing all over the tombs. I kept saying, "sorry sorry, please don’t be angry with me, I’m just trying to save a dog; please don’t follow me home!"
When she lost her balance and fell, we took a while to loop a leash around her neck. She was very fierce, salivating and kept showing us her teeth and pale gums! After a few minutes of battle, we managed to cover her with a bedsheet, put a leash around her neck and shoved her into a carrier. We rushed her to the vet.
Watch her rescue here.
Thank you for letting us get her before nightfall!
At the vet, the staff commented that they had never seen a dog with such swollen limbs. As she was very nervous and not used to human contact, the vet had to sedate her before they could take bloods and X-rays. Somehow, we felt her relief at being caught.
Her name is Daisy and these are her results:
- Blood test – severely anemic, very pale gums
- White blood cells – sky high readings, severe infection
- Skin and bones, ribs protruding from her small frame
- We had initially thought she was a puppy because of her small size but under sedation, the vet checked her teeth – adult teeth with many chipped teeth. So she is an adult dog.
- X-ray of limbs – as you can see in the X-ray, she has a lot of extra bone growth, causing her bones to keep growing. Poor Daisy, her legs were so hard and infected, the vet could not stick a needle into her leg to put in an IV drip. Daisy has a very rare condition, although it is more common overseas. This is what she is suspected to have – https://www.petmd.com/dog/conditions/musculoskeletal/c_dg_osteodystrophy
- Severely dehydrated and malnourished
- X-ray of lungs, chest infection, lungworms, very rare in Singapore, started treatment. https://www.petmd.com/dog/conditions/respiratory/c_dg_lungworms
- Nails were very long as she could not walk properly and grind her nails – nails have been clipped.
- Her condition is unstable. Daisy is on fluids as she is severely dehydrated. However, the fluids in her body may dilute her blood and cause further anaemia – which is why we need a donor dog on standby for blood transfusion.
We don’t know how old Daisy is. All we know is that she has had such a hard life and with your support, we will do our best to help her cope with her rare medical conditions.
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| Daisy and her very swollen legs |
To help Daisy, please email hopedogrescue@singnet.com.sg
Thank you.
Written by: Fiona
