Archie (owner surrender)

Just weeks after our shocking rescue of the grossly neglected CCK dog, now named Caitlyn, we rescued another dog from similar circumstances!!

When will there be stricter laws and penalties for such gross neglect? And, why do we still allow puppy mills ,given the worrying spike in such neglected cases?

An acquaintance, a housing agent, had visited a HDB flat for viewing and saw this dejected dog lying in the corner of a filthy enclosure. She sent us a photo of the dog and asked if we could help. Like Caitlyn’s story, all it took was one person’s initiative, to change the life of a fellow living being. 

The photo we received from the housing agent.

We found out that this little Pom passed through many hands. Owner died, passed Pom to his son, who then passed away in his 50s. Pom was passed to another brother to care for. This brother obviously wasn’t into dogs so he did the minimal. He fed the dog daily, but didn’t bother to clean the enclosure, leaving the poor sweet Pom to lie in years of poop. 5 years, to be exact, after the other brother passed on. 

Just so happy to be patted

After some discussion, the uncle finally agreed for us to visit the dog and take him away. When we got to the house, we could smell strong antiseptic. As we entered the house, we realized he had mopped the entire house with Dettol, except the enclosure. Was it another case of trying to remove evidence? We can't even begin to imagine how someone could live with that stench.

Dirty, smelly and badly matted. We wondered when his last bath was.

After chatting for a while, he agreed that we could take the dog to the vet. The dog was so, so smelly, and his fur was so badly matted that we imagined the vet clinic was going to take another few hours to shave him and discard their shavers again. We noticed he was not sterilized and his testicles were hard and swollen, causing him much pain. The dog will be going for a surgery as we write this. 

On the way to the vet, the grateful doggy kept licking the volunteer’s face, thanking her for coming to his rescue.

Hardened and painful testicles

He was so badly matted, his fur was literally peeling off his skin

Ears filled with discharge

Archie's paw!

We have named him Archie. He is not licensed and not microchipped – so there is no way to pin the blame. Animal welfare laws are really lax in Singapore. 

You're safe now, Archie <3

If you can do the following, please get in touch with us - hopedogrescue@singnet.com.sg or drop us a private message.

Help Archie by sharing his post / helping with his vet bills / adopting him.

First Rescue of 2024 - Russell (owner surrender)

Twelve years together ain’t a short time. How does one have the heart to say goodbye or, even worse, leave behind a companion after more than a decade together? Such is the life of Russell, a 13-year-old mixed silky terrier who was surrendered to us by his family due to financial difficulties. 

A sad dog left behind by his owner 

Russell was adopted by his then-family when he was only 1-year-old. As the family expanded over the years, his family was plagued with financial difficulties and could no longer afford his medical treatments. His last vet visit was, in fact, four years ago in December 2019. To make matters more complicated, one of the four children in the family is allergic to pet fur. 

He was eventually left behind with the elderly parents-in-law when the family moved out a year ago. But didn’t it occur to them that their parents were getting old too, and it just wasn’t fair that the entire caretaking responsibility was on them now? It’s a relief that the owners reached out to us as they could no longer turn a blind eye to his health condition. 

We brought Russell to the vet last week for a review. He weighs 5.9 kg (which is a good weight to maintain) and the most obvious problem he has is severe dermatitis. It is one of the more severe cases we have seen. There are bacterial infections all over his body, causing his skin to be itchy, red and flaky. It was so bad that he could barely open his eyes. He was given an anti-itch cytopoint injection, and his foster will be using the prescribed mousse and shampoo on him weekly till the symptoms subside. He was also tested positive for ringworms.  

Bacterial and fungal infection on his skin. Redness all over

His eyes, ears and teeth weren't spared either. His eyesight seems fine but would need eye drops three times a day due to dryness. Both his ears are down with infection, but they have been cleaned at the vet. Ear drops were also dispensed for use. 

Ear infection

Eyes that show no glimmer of hope and nails so long they curled sideways

Poor dental health was in a way expected but we didn’t expect it to be so bad. There are two tiny holes in his gums and he will likely need a gum repair surgery and extraction in months to come.

Dental disease, holes in his gums

There was also a small lump observed on his tail but it shouldn’t be an issue and we will arrange for it to be removed during his dental appointment. 

Lump on the tail

Moving on to better news… his joints seem okay in general with good muscle mass and he walks pretty well! The sad thing is his nails were so overgrown that it must have been painful for him to walk long distances. But then again, we wonder… he was not taken out for daily walks 🙁

Overgrown nails

His blood works came back okay overall; there were no issues with his liver despite his age and health conditions. He does have mild anemia but we believe that would improve with dedicated care moving forward. The next step would be ultrasound to check on his heart as he has a grade 4 (out of 6) heart murmur. 

Russell has been nothing but sweet during all these health checks and our time with him. He has a very mild temperament and is food motivated. He’s currently staying with a foster whom kindly came forward when we were seeking help. 

We are sharing his story not to blame or flame anyone but it really saddens us to see this sweet, senior dog in this state due to neglect. We can’t emphasize enough how important it is to think and plan carefully when you decide to get a pet. Having a pet is a lifetime commitment, not one you can simply dismiss due to circumstances in life. We don’t know how long his recovery journey will take and if it’d be an arduous one. But we are determined to nurse him back to health, and find him a nice and loving family that he so deserves, and spend his twilight years in. 

If you would like to find out more about adopting Russell, please fill in this non-obligatory form (https://goo.gl/forms/ia4w4IlWYk) and we will be in touch. Or if you would like to contribute to his vet bills, please drop us an email at hopedogrescue@singnet.com.sg. With your support, we can help Russell find a second chance in life ♥️

Russell getting a second chance in life
(photo courtesy of foster)

The Choa Chu Kang Dog From Street 62

It was close to dinner time on 30 Jan, and a volunteer pinged us to share news about an abused dog on Mothership  https://mothership.sg/2024/01/dog-abuse-hdb-flat-choa-chu-kang/. You could imagine our concern when we read that SPCA visited the unit and failed to get the dog out. So, we decided to save the dog. Call it bravery or simply foolish.

Every minute counts when it comes to rescue work. Images of the matted dog gave us the strength to act. After dinner and within an hour,  we gathered a handful of volunteers at the block.  We rummaged about the rubbish dump in case we find a carcass of the dog. There we saw discarded pee trays similar to the ones in the Mothership article. We went from floor to floor looking for a gate that resembled the picture in the article. Thankfully, we did not have to climb too many floors.

The door was open with clothes and stuff strewn across the hall, just like we saw in the news article. But, there was no dog, and the floor was clean. We called out and a lady came out from the bedroom.

Us: Where's your dog?

Lady: She's showering.

Us: We came to help the dog.

Lady: She's showering.

We said we would wait. All this while during the conversation, the lady stood afar at the bedroom door while we were outside her gate. We told her to give us the dog because her story is all over the media and she is going to get into a lot of trouble. She said: "I don't even know who you are".

She asked us which group we represented. We gave her our mobile number and showed her Hope's Facebook page. She scrolled through the pages while we waited. When she came across one of our volunteer's photo, she looked up and seemed convinced we were legit.

It was 10pm+. Again, she said the dog was in a shower. There is a certain irony here, of course.

She appeared hesitant about giving the dog to us, so we reminded her that she could get into trouble with the law. Suddenly, the lady told us to get coffee somewhere. We assumed that meant she would hand over the dog to us. We persisted in waiting in case she gets rid of the dog.

We hung around the unit. In the midst of waiting, an RC member showed up, took our photos, but did not identify herself until we spoke to her. She refused to say much except that she had to report to her boss. 

After nearly 2 hours of waiting and close to midnight, the lady of the unit appeared at the door with the dog wrapped in a wet towel. Two young men came out with her. Poor dog, why the sudden need to bathe and shave in the middle of the night after years of neglect! Obviously, she was getting rid of all the evidence of neglect. This is why we must reach the dog fast; time is of the essence.

We left quickly after she surrendered the dog to us, before she changed her mind.

Once we reached the void deck, we used spare towels we brought along to wipe the poor trembling dog and covered her from the cold. Despite her bath, you cannot imagine the stench. Brown liquid was also flowing out of her ears.  

As the dog was stable, we took the dog back to a volunteer's house for the night. It was past midnight and several 24-hour hospitals we called, were either short of staff or busy with emergencies which required us to wait 3-4 hours. 

She barked a few times throughout the night, probably from fear and confusion of being in a strange environment but when we patted her, she would fall back to sleep.

The next morning, we brought the dog to the vet, and also updated AVS. Everyone gasped when they saw the dog. She looked like a scene out of a horror movie. We speculate it would take years of neglect to reach this state. Her eyes were covered with furs stuck with thick layers of faeces. Medical staff took almost 3 hours to clean the horrible huge tangles on her fur, and discarded 3 shavers in the process. The dog was expressionless on the vet's table, resigned to her fate.

How did all this unraveled?

The reader who tipped off Mothership gave us an account of her story. 

She was on community work at the block on 27 Jan, and came across the unit. Dog chained to the gate kept barking. Aghast at the cruelty, she contacted AVS, the MP, and the media the next day desperate to get help. The stars were aligned when Mothership released the story on 30 Jan so that we could get to the dog. 

Clearly, the neglect of Caitlyn has been ongoing for a long period of time. Apparently, the neighbours are aware and told the Mothership reader this has been happening for some time. It surprises us that the neighbours could put up with it at all, and that the RC did not get wind of it. 

Come to think of it, we are surprised that AVS did not seize the dog immediately considering that the dog was in a vulnerable position. Only AVS and the police have power to take legal action in cruelty cases.  The dog was neither microchipped or licensed.

We don't mean to brag but we are extremely impressed by our team of volunteers who responded so quickly late into the night, negotiated with the owner for hours, and having to resume work the next day. We are proud of what Hope has achieved despite being a small group, and for saving this sweet dog whom we have named Caitlyn.

This is another sad statistic to add to our stack of animal abuse cases. Coincidentally, it was the very same day that SPCA released its 2023 annual report, highlighting a spike in animal cruelty investigations that hit an 11-year high. 

For a long time, animal welfare groups have been calling for tougher sanctions against offenders. 

Will it happen now?

Caitlyn weighs a mere 3.3kg, half of what a normal Shih Tzu would weigh. Presently warded at the clinic, her vitals are stable, but she has mange and we are waiting for her ringworm results. Vet estimates her to be about 10 years old or lesser.  We will arrange a heart and abdomen ultrasound because she has a heart murmur. More details about her medical condition will be posted in the next few days.

If you can foster Caitlyn, or help with her vet bills, please drop us a private message on Facebook or email hopedogrescue@singnet.com.sg. We need all the help we can get.

Caitlyn will be available for adoption later. 

Investigations are ongoing.