Pancreatitis

Pancreatitis in dogs is an insidious condition. It is a potentially life-threatening condition, yet the symptoms may not be very obvious at first and even if they are, are common enough that they are usually dismissed or mistaken for something less serious. We had a brush with this disease when Timmy got it. His pancreatitis had led to acute kidney failure and we almost lost him. So we felt that it is important for all pet parents to be aware of what to look out for.

The pancreas is responsible for producing digestive enzymes to aid in digestion. Normally, these enzymes are not activated until they reach the intestines where their work begins. In some cases, the enzymes are activated before they reach their destination and this can result in the enzymes digesting the pancreas itself and the surrounding tissues and organs, causing damage and inflammation to these areas. The inflammation of the pancreas is what we refer to as pancreatitis. This can cause extreme pain to the dog so one of the signs of this is that a dog may adopt a prayer position when resting. The prayer position is where the front elbows are on the ground but the back legs are standing. This is never a good position to find your dog in because this shows that the dog has pain in the abdomen area which is why they are not resting on it. If you ever find your dog in such a position, you should take them to the vet immediately.

Some other signs of pancreatitis are repeated vomiting, diarrhoea, weakness and/or lethargy, loss of appetite, dehydration and fever. Again, these are not specific to pancreatitis and can be signs of other conditions which may be just as serious. As a general rule of thumb, if your dog only exhibits one of these signs, and only infrequently, then you can just monitor them. If multiple signs present at the same time and repeatedly, then you should take your dog to the vet immediately.

Exactly what causes pancreatitis is not known and an attack often happens out of the blue,but there are risk factors that are known to trigger the condition:

•  A high-fat diet is a major cause of pancreatitis, especially when a dog has a large helping of fatty food in one serving.
• Dogs who are obese, have diabetes or endocrine disorders may also be more susceptible to the condition.
• Certain medications such as corticosteroids may also trigger the condition.
• Some small breed dogs like miniature schnauzers and  other terrier breeds are simply more predisposed to developing pancreatitis.

Pancreatitis can be life-threatening and should never be treated with any home remedy. Types of supplements should always be discussed with your vet before giving them to your dog as some supplements may worsen the condition. For example, fish oil, though counterintuitive, has also been shown to lower lipid levels which can help. However, human studies have shown that probiotics actually worsens the condition.

Prevention is always the best medicine, and just as in most cases, it is important to make sure that you feed your dog a healthy, balanced (for canines, not humans) diet that is low in fat. However, sometimes you may do all the right things and yet fate has just dealt the dog a bad hand so it is critical to stay vigilant and be aware of the warning signs that your dog may be in distress. If ever in doubt, always err on the side of caution and take your dog to the vet. Better to be kiasu than not!

Olive, another Kai Kai (New Rescue)

Sweet Olive has gone to a volunteer’s home because we have not found a foster for her. She is still settling in and missing her family lots. She whines for them and stares at the door all day, waiting for them to come back for her. 

When people decide to give up their dogs, they don’t see the sadness and dejection that we see. The dogs would be thinking, why me? Why give me away? What did I do wrong? And the answer is always the same; they did nothing wrong. In fact, despite being given away, these dogs still love and remain loyal to the ex-families. 

We have done blood tests for Olive and her results are surprisingly good. Olive is 10. Olive has a huge tumour in her right ear – we can’t even begin to imagine how long she has lived with that pain and discomfort; blood constantly oozing down her face. We did a chest x-ray to see if her cancer has spread to her lungs but fortunately, we don’t see the spread yet. 

Olive has a pretty bad heart murmur, Grade 4 (out of 6) and so any surgeries that she undergoes, there is a risk of losing her on the table; but how do we let her go on living with a huge oozing ear tumour?

Olive was surrendered at the vet

Very bad skin chewed till she bled

We wonder how long she has been living with this huge tumour?

Next step, Olive will be scheduled for a heart ultrasound asap, followed by a surgery to remove the tumour. Its going to cost a lot and we will need to start raising funds for that soon. 

Extremely dry eyes

Rescuing senior dogs doesn’t come cheap because they often come with a host of health issues and often it is our very own volunteers that pay from their own pockets. One volunteer sponsored Olive’s home grooming as she was a smelly mess. And how cute she looks now! The volunteers also bought her a collar, harness, name tag, pee pads etc all from their own pockets. 

After home grooming, sponsored by a volunteer - so much neater  <3 

Huge tumour in her right ear

If you would like to contribute to Olive’s ultrasound and upcoming surgery to remove the huge tumour on her ear, please email us hopedogrescue@singnet.com.sg Thank you.

Olive looking cute after her grooming 

Matilda Happy Ever After

I've been fostering Matilda for awhile now and finally decided it was the right time to officially adopt her. 

Throughout the period as her foster, I've always treated her as an official member of our family and her presence has really brought us together. 

Read Matilda's story http://hopedogrescue.blogspot.com/2015/06/news-from-vacated-factory-3.html

Ying Jie & Matilda 

Even though they say fostering/adopting a dog changes their lives, I would say that she has changed mine. With her goofy personality, antics and the improvement she has made through her walks, she has taught me unconditional love, patience, and resilience in ways I cannot fathom. I also see my family start to change and grow accepting of her since she entered our lives – from being skeptical about the idea of having a dog, to opening their hearts to her and showering her with love (and plenty of pats and treats). 

I would like to thank HOPE for the support and trust given to us over the years, I would not have done it without Fiona and the team's support.

Written by: Ying Jie

Patience plays a big part in Matilda’s life . . . . . and finally good things came to all who wait. 

For about 8 years, this brindle beauty has been waiting for the right family to adopt her.

As she is skittish and easily spooked when outside, she needed a patient and firm handler who had experience dealing with skittish dogs, and one who was also physically strong enough to withstand her tugs.

In the early years, Matilda’s skittishness led her to a couple of unintended solo adventures; holding the unfortunate record of having been lost the most number of times. Fortunately, thanks to our volunteers’ help, Matilda was found safe and sound.

Matilda had been present at many meet-and-greet sessions to meet her potential family. Although a permanent home eluded her all these years, fortunately, Matilda had a great foster who patiently fostered her all these years. Matilda thrived under her care. 

There is a special bond between foster and dog after having been together for 5 years.

Recently, we approached the foster to ask if she would consider making Matilda an official member of her family. She shared with us that Matilda had all along been seen as part of her family. Her parents had wanted her to graduate from school and start working, so she could be financially responsible for Matilda. Her time is now - Matilda has been adopted by her foster, Ying Jie and family, and we couldn’t be happier for yet another foster fail!

Baby Matilda

Patience has finally paid off for Matilda. Good things indeed come to those who wait. We wish Ying Jie and family and Matilda many happy years ahead.

Written by: Hope Dog Rescue

Malcolm the Poodle (owner surrender)

Just when we thought our plates are full and couldn’t take on anymore, we met Malcolm.  

Does he look like a poodle? 

Malcolm is our latest case of owner surrendered dog. At 10 years of age, one would have expected him to be reasonably healthy, able to see and hear well. Yet the poodle that we met looked nothing like that. Balding in so many parts of his body, his eyes were listless and the face that we laid our eyes on told us this is a dog that has been through so much. 

A visit to our regular vet for the preliminary check and assessment found so many issues that we didn’t know how to list them all, so we shall focus on the main ones:

Did years of infection / allergies cause Malcolm to lose his hearing?

• Chronic allergies leading to hyperpigmentation, thickened skin, intense itch and balding. 
• Cornea scarring and loss of visibility in both eyes due to extreme dryness over a prolonged period. He is estimated to have only around 20% visibility. 
• Deaf in both ears.
• High globulin and enlarged lymph nodes underneath the tongue which could possibly be due to his skin condition. 

Long nails, fur loss :-( 

How long has he been suffering? 

Thankfully his overall blood test results were still not too bad, giving us some hope that with proper treatment and care, he will be able to bloom and lead a better quality of life. He was given an injection to help ease the itch. On his next review he will undergo ultrasound scans and possibly further tests to check for cushings and thyroid issues. He will also need a dental scaling, although this can wait for now.

Mini Zeus? 

Malcolm is currently staying with a temporary foster and we will look into rehomimg him when he is in a better state of health. The road to recovery may take a while but we will not give up on him. Likewise if you feel for Malcolm and would like to contribute towards his medical bills, please drop us a message at hopedogrescue@singnet.com.sg.

The Clan Dogs

A local clan association had approached us for help with two of their dogs as sadly, their caregiver had passed on and none of the staff had time for the dogs. The dogs are extremely well fed but kept in an enclosure 24/7. Both have bad skin and ear infection, possibly from food and environmental allergies. Bob had a small wound on his head, likely from scratching his ears and his long nails had scratched his head and caused a wound.

Initially we had asked them to take Bob to the vet to have his wound checked but the clan association did not have manpower to do so, thus we booked a house call for the vet to go down to see both Bob and the other girl dog. 

One male dog, Bob,12 years old, was deaf and blind in one eye, likely from cataract, while the other was Ah Pei, female, 6 years old. With a soft spot for senior and special needs dogs, we offered to take Bob. Unfortunately, when they showed us Bob’s licence, he was licenced as a Presa Canario, which is a scheduled breed in Singapore, requiring private residence, bond and insurance in order to license the breed. Because of this, we are unable to take Bob in and we are appealing to anyone who has a private residence and a space for Bob, to consider giving him a chance. He is huge, looks about 40kg but very sweet, friendly and a big baby. He allowed his nails to be clipped without fuss. We don’t know how he is with other dogs, but he is fine with Ah Pei, who looks up to Bob and follows him around.

For now, the dogs have been given meds for their itch, had their nails clipped and ears cleaned. The vet had recommended they change the kibbles and canned food to something more hypoallergenic.

Ah Pei is a small local dog, about 16kg. She is high energy but you can't blame her as she has been locked up all her life. With daily walks, we are sure she will eventually calm down. Ah Pei is also friendly, sweet and she too had no issues with nail clipping.

If anyone has a home for Bob , Ah Pei or both, please email us and we will put you in touch with the caregivers. Please help them so they will experience some joy and freedom.

Our email – hopedogrescue@singnet.com.sg 

A vet visiting the clan dogs 

Long nails (Ah Pei) 

Long nails (Bob) 

Sweet old big baby

Sweet Ah Pei; all she wants is pat pat & walks

Vet nurses clipping Bob's nails 

Sweet old Bob 

The vet said he needed to lose some weight 

Ear cleaning 

Ah Pei getting to know the vet before nail clipping 

Unclaimed Dog (Barney Schnauzer)

The schnauzer that was picked up from Tah Ching Road late last Friday has not been claimed. A check with AVS shows he is not licensed and thus his owners cannot be traced. Posters had been put up by the lady that found him. 

He has been staying at the vet as we have no fosters on hand.

We took him at 1am on Saturday (14 May 2022) and did a basic blood test.

When we found him / after grooming

Here’s what we know so far :

• Male / not sterilized – will be soon
• Ears very dirty and fur unkempt

  

  Dirty, hairy ears

• Rotten teeth with many teeth missing (will have dental soon)
• Long, curled nails 

Nails too long, they curled

• Very dry, patchy, flaky skin – has had one medicated bath at the vet

Dirty, patchy, flaky skin

• Has been tested for ringworms, awaiting results 
• Blood test shows kidney & liver functioning well, dehydrated 
• Vet estimates him to be about 12 years old, weighs 8.7kg. He is a little tubby.
• Doesn’t like being caged, will bark and shred pee pads. Once he is out of the cage, he is extremely sweet and obedient.
• Loves meeting dogs and very affectionate with people
• He is a very good boy – just quietly lay down when he was groomed and when he had his blood drawn.
• May have been beaten because a few times when we raised our hands above him, he will cower and submit.

The night we picked him up

The harness he was wearing; how ironical 

We have named him BARNEY because he is so pleasant and fun-loving. 

This week Barney will undergo a heart & abdomen ultrasound, followed by dental and sterilization. This is the norm for all our rescues as we want to ensure they are in the best of health and if they are unwell, at least we will be able to pick it up early and treat.

Barney at the vet, right after he was picked up

Sweet Barney needs help with the following :

1. Foster for at least 3 mths. Foster should not leave him home alone for more than 6 hours. Preferably with a nice dog to play with. Be able to provide 3 walks & 2 meals a day and observe fluid intake.
2. Help with his medical procedures 

Email hopedogrescue@singnet.com.sg if you can help.

Please note he is not available for adoption at the moment. He will be, when he is ready in a month or two.

A Happy Ending After All

It was a journey full of lessons that started on the first day I fostered Charcoal. After seeing firsthand how FIP (Feline Infectious Peritonitis) had caused his breathing to be so laboured that he almost died, I knew I needed to help him get better. After all, I was one of the volunteers who brought baby Charcoal to the vet slightly more than a year ago when a worker found him inside a drain. 

Frankly speaking, I didn’t plan to adopt Charcoal when I first decided to foster him. My only aim then was to see him get better. But the long road to recovery had bonded us. The first few weeks were extra memorable as I tried to get a hang of caring for a cat. Despite being sick, Charcoal liked to mew late at night to a point that I was worried my neighbours would complain. It wasn’t that he was in pain - he probably was not used to the new home environment. That’s now all water under the bridge. Charcoal is now comfortable and he sleeps wherever he pleases. I am lucky that my bed is big enough for the two of us! 

I have always wanted to have a cat and I am grateful to have adopted Charcoal. I am also eternally grateful for the support from my family, my lovely volunteer family at HOPE, and the generosity of HOPE’s donors, that Charcoal has now been given a new lease of life.

Story by Fadzil