When Ariel first came to us in mid-October 2025, her story broke our hearts. She was surrendered by her owner, painfully thin, neglected, and confused. Nearly three months later, she’s a very different dog — brighter, with a wagging tail that goes like a windscreen wiper when she’s out walking with her rescue friends. But beneath her cheerful spirit, Ariel continues to battle many serious health issues.
Ariel has undergone multiple scans, revealing a mass in her abdomen that is being closely monitored. Her most recent ultrasound also showed nodules in both adrenal glands. On top of that, she has a heart condition and is now on lifelong heart medication. Despite everything, she greets every vet visit with gentle patience and courage.
Her remaining eye, which had worried us due to its slight protrusion, was examined by an eye specialist. Thankfully, it’s not glaucoma — but scarring from old ulcerations caused by dry eyes. Ariel now needs eye drops and ointments three times a day for life. We truly hope she can keep her vision in this eye, as losing it would be devastating for her.
She’s also recovering from having 24 rotten teeth extracted. That first week after surgery, she seemed down — perhaps mourning yet another loss after already losing her eye. For this reason, we postponed the removal of her spleen, knowing that emotionally and physically, she might not cope well with another major operation at this stage.
After second opinions and further tests, two independent vets confirmed that Ariel has two types of cancer, already at an advanced stage. With her age (12 years), frailty, and the risks of anesthesia, we made the difficult but compassionate decision not to proceed with a biopsy or immediate splenectomy. Instead, our focus is on her comfort, happiness, and quality of life. Ariel also has lumps on two of her nipples; she is not sterilized.
Her foster mum works tirelessly to coax her to eat — even handfeeding her and preparing home-cooked meals — as Ariel struggles with bloating and inappetence. On days when she refuses water, subcutaneous fluids are given to keep her hydrated. Recently, we brought her to a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) vet to support her comfort and appetite through acupuncture and herbal remedies. Ariel was such a sweetheart during treatment, patiently lying there as if knowing we were all trying to help her.
The first TCM consultation and medication cost $865. Ariel now returns for acupuncture sessions twice weekly to help her regain strength and energy. We hope it helps.
Thanks to your incredible generosity, we have enough funds for Ariel should she require emergency care or expensive treatments ahead, she’ll be covered without delay. Every dollar helps us stand by her as she continues to fight bravely each day.
Thank you for loving Ariel — your support reminds us that even in her fragile state, she is surrounded by compassion, dignity, and hope. We’ll continue sharing her progress.
From all of us at HOPE Dog Rescue, thank you for believing in our mission and for helping us give dogs like Ariel the care and love they so deeply deserve.
Note : video of Ariel during her TCM treatment, in parts of the video, you can hear she snoring and if you notice, she sleeps with her eye open, which contributes to her dry eye problem.
