Updates On Theo After Surgery

Theo's surgery on Friday was a success! Of course he is in pain and groggy, but he's awake and alive, which is everything we had hoped for. He even started purring when the vet patted him!

Theo during surgery. (The nerves in his left eye are dead).

The surgery was pretty tough, as the area around the injured eye was bruised and black. There were a lot of blood vessels in the area, and the vet team had to be extremely careful. They successfully removed Theo's left eyeball and stitched his eye socket up. They also found bruising around the eye, as well as inside the mouth and face, indicating that he suffered a hemorrhage. It was interesting how all the damage and injury was concentrated on his face, leaving the rest of his body unhurt.

Bruising

The Vet noted that the jawline fracture was in the joint area between the left and right jaw. This was a good thing, as it meant that it would heal on its own, although that would take a while. Since this means that he can't eat solid food, a feeding tube has been inserted into Theo's throat through the side of his neck so we can feed him mashed and liquid food. When he was fed with a small amount of food through the tube, he took it well and did not throw up.

After surgery

During the surgery, Theo was also neutered and ear-tipped.

He will be closely monitored for the next two days. Our concern now is that the septicemia from the eye might have entered his brain. If it had, we will know in one or two days when he starts having problems walking, with his head tilted to one side.

If there are no problems, he should be discharged by the end of this week.

The aftercare Theo requires at his foster home includes being tube-fed small meals 4-5 times a day for 2 to 3 weeks. He'll be put on a prescription diet from the clinic, and the food needs to be blended before being put into the tube.

We are in the midst of finalizing a foster home for sweet Theo.

We thank everyone who has provided him with financial aid. The road to recovery is a long one, but like all our other rescues, we will always be there for them.

If you wish to ADOPT Theo, please email hopedogrescue@singnet.com.sg. He is a local cat, estimated to be about 6 to 7 years old, sweet and affectionate.

Photographs courtesy of Dr Poh

Updates on Theo

After bringing Theo to the vet yesterday, we learnt that the nerves on Theo’s left eye (the eye that popped out of its socket) has been damaged beyond repair. Theo no longer has nerves in that eye, and it will need to be removed. His right eye is thankfully alright. Theo also suffered a broken jaw.

We suspect that the accident was a hit-and-run, but it doesn't seem to be from a car or a large vehicle as there seems to be hardly any injury to his legs or body, despite Theo’s extensive head injuries. We think he was hit by a bicycle or a motorbike coming at full speed. A more sinister guess would be that somebody had whacked him on the head really hard, on purpose. 

Poor Theo, extremely sweet despite the trauma

The initial plan was for Theo to undergo surgery this weekend or later, as Theo's liver reading is extremely elevated. He was bleeding from his nostril, so the vet ran a blood test to check his blood count and organ reading. As it turns out, Theo's liver reading came in at over 1,000. The normal reading is between 100-200. His white blood count is high as well, due to an infection in his system and a high level of stress. With such elevated readings, an operation right now could kill him. The ideal situation would have been to wait for Theo to stabilise, and for his liver readings to go down.

Not ready to face the world yet

Unfortunately, today we found out that Theo's left eye has started to turn black. This could lead to septicemia, a bacterial infection in the bloodstream, or in short, blood poisoning - which is far more threatening to his life than elevated liver readings. As a result, Theo will undergo an emergency surgery to remove the eyeball this morning (Friday). Although the vet is on leave today, she has kindly decided to return to the clinic to perform the surgery. We're very grateful for this!

The vet will use gas anesthesia, which is the safest and gentlest method, instead of the usual injectables, and she will be closely monitoring Theo's liver reading during surgery. At the same time, the medical team will also attempt to fix Theo's jaw line. Theo will also be neutered during the surgery, although this is the lowest priority. He is estimated to be between 6 to 8 years old. 

Right now, Theo is in a lot of pain and discomfort, despite the painkillers he has been taking. He isn't eating, is extremely dehydrated and has been put on a drip. The vet will insert a feeding tube into his neck during surgery, so we'll be able to feed him liquid or mashed food into his throat and esophagus. He desperately needs the nutrients to boost his immune system and get well.

Theo urgently needs a foster when he is discharged in one week's time. The foster must be able to care for him and tube-feed him for 2 to 3 weeks. He can be left alone, but not for more than half a day.

Please keep your prayers and contributions coming. Theo's estimated vet bill is $3,000, if there are no complications.

If you can help in any way, please email hopedogrescue@singnet.com.sg immediately. Thank you!

Cat's Eyeball Pops Out Of Socket After Hit And Run

A lady was about to take the lift home this morning when an elderly lady and her domestic helper pleaded for her to go with them to see an injured at the multi-storey car park nearby. The cat appeared to be a victim of a hit and run. It’s left eyeball had popped out of its socket and blood was constantly dripping from it’s mouth. There were blood tire tracks and pools of blood around the parking lot.

The cat's left eyeball has popped out of its socket

The cat was circling slowly, in great pain and disoriented, and only sat down for a while before circling the grounds once more. After repeated calls to Hope Dog Rescue and other contacts did not get through, she called the SPCA. After an hour, SPCA came and took the cat with them. The lady then made two follow up calls to SPCA to ensure that the cat would not be euthanized. She was then told to take the cat to her own vet for help.

On the way to the Vet, blood constantly dripping from her mouth

By this time, Hope Dog Rescue had contacted the lady and as she waits for transport with the cat, our volunteers are rushing down from work to meet her at the vet and assist the badly injured cat. The poor kitty is starting to hyperventilate and will need pain killers and to be put on drip as soon as possible.

Poor kitty. We can't even begin to imagine her pain

The pain must be unimaginable. We can never fathom how humans can hit and injure a living creature and just drive off without offering help.

He's a male cat and we named him Theo.

His eye would most likely need to be removed and he is constantly bleeding from his nose. His condition needs to be stabilized before more tests can be done on him.

If you can help with the cat’s medical bills, please email hopedogrescue@singnet.com.sg

*Photographs courtesy of Grace Khoo and Cherlyn Tan.

Giving Up On Love

We received an e-mail from Lady J informing us that her dog, Lele, was unwell as it kept whining and howling. She came to us for advice as she had no idea what to do, and was considering giving up the dog as her neighbours could not tolerate the noises her dog made. Lady J told us that the dog was fine as she had brought her to a vet. We told her to bring the dog again to a vet for a more thorough check-up involving parvo, distemper and a blood test, with the recommendation of one of our regular vets. Lady J ended up bringing Lele to the same vet saying he was familiar with her condition. After taking an x-ray, the vet determined that Lele had a lung problem, and was given medication for it. Lady J felt that if Lele did not get better, she would be put to sleep. We were surprised that the vet’s diagnosis of Lele’s lung problem was attributed to old age – Lele was only an 8 year old Maltese! She was hardly old as any dog could live to almost twice that age.


In subsequent e-mail conversations over the next two weeks, Lady J initially agreed to bring her to another vet for a second opinion if Lele did not get better. However, a few days later, Lady J e-mailed to inform us that she did not have the capability to take care of Lele and decided to let Lele go to end her suffering. One of our volunteers informed Lady J that HOPE would take over the case, and to not end Lele's life yet. Although our volunteer managed to contact her in time, we found out that Lady J's mother was already on the way to the vet to put Lele down. We rushed to mobilize volunteers to pick Lele up and bring her to one of our vets.

Volunteer, Buven, collecting Lele from her family who gave her up

Lele's owner handing her to us

Lele sick at the vet

Lele was warded immediately and was at the vet for 4 days before we transferred her to see Dr Ly. Poor Lele was almost in an unconscious state and we were warned about the risks of attempting to transfer her. However, we were desperate for a second opinion and a means to ease her pain. As soon as we arrived at the second vet, Lele was placed on oxygen therapy as her breathing was terribly laboured. Dr Ly commented that with Lele’s condition, she would not respond to conventional treatments and the best that could be done was to make her feel more comfortable and reduce her pain.
We contacted Lele's family and insisted that they visited her. We felt it would be a pity to put Lele down, but we knew that Lele was approaching her final hours. We believed it was important for Lele to have her family with her. That night, Lele's family came to visit her, but the mood was not a solemn one. Instead, there were smiles and laughter as if it was a joyous occasion. On that very night, poor Lele had 3 seizures within a few hours. Although it was in the wee hours of the morning, we felt that Lele shouldn't be left alone at the vet so plans were made for a fellow volunteer to take Lele home first thing in the morning as Lady J was reluctant to bring Lele home for the weekend. Before morning came, sweet Lele passed away. It was as if she was contented to have had her family visit her one final time. Such is the loyalty of a dog, despite knowing that her family had given up on her.

Farewell Lele

We rushed down in the wee hours of the morning to collect her body and arranged for a private cremation the next morning. Our volunteers attended the cremation and even though we did not know Lele for a long time, we were deeply saddened by her hard life. We may not have been able to do much for Lele in her final days, but we are sure she knew how much we cared for her.
The vet bills and cremation were paid by Hope Dog Rescue. Support our work so that we may continue to help more dogs in need.
Written by Jasmine Chng

Thankfully, two of our volunteers, Annie and Buven, happened to be in the vicinity and chanced upon our group message for volunteers to retrieve Lele and bring her to the vet. It was a long wait at the vet as we did not have any appointment booked. As we were waiting, Lele was crying out with such pain that we couldn’t bear to see her in such a condition. We decided that we could no longer wait patiently as Lele's pain was reaching unbearable levels for her. Buven approached the vet tech and based on Lele's condition, they took her in for an examination by the vet immediately. As we waited outside, the vet ran multiple tests on Lele, and we were told that the x-rays indicated that she also had spinal problems, and the blood test showed that her liver was extremely swollen.

Three Days To Doomsday

Oscar, a 9-month-old stray puppy, was spotted wandering around alone and seeking shelter in a quiet neighbourhood. Sharon, who lived in the same neighbourhood, had heard about this stray puppy wandering around the estate and notified us about this homeless puppy.

This stray puppy is believed to have been living within the Bukit Timah forested area before he decided to make this French household his home.

This family usually leave their main gate open and one day, this stray puppy, whom they named Oscar, wandered into their home during a heavy storm, hiding under their car to seek shelter from the rain. They didn’t chase him away so Oscar continued to come into the home as and when he pleased. Eventually he moved into the house and they let him be.

Oscar hiding under the table at the French home

For 2 months, the family has been kindly feeding him and he has become family to them. Oscar also became good friends with the family dog, a senior golden retriever. Although he has been living together with them for a while now and is comfortable playing with the family dog, he is still extremely wary of human beings. He still shies from the family and refuses to be touched by them. It took them an hour to corner him when they wanted to put a collar on him!

After 2 months without much progress with the dog, they asked their neighbour Sharon for advise, who in turn asked us.

To understand their situation better, volunteers from Hope went to visit Oscar and the family. He is young and extremely playful. He roams around the house freely and even takes walks outside the home on his own before returning again. He also enjoys playing in the garden and digging holes under the tree. He goes in and out of the house via a hole he dug under the fence. Such is the intelligence of a stray!

The hole that Oscar dug 

The family told us that Oscar could stay till they left Singapore in a few weeks’ time to return to France but it was not possible to bring Oscar along as “he is not our family” and hence, they will need to find him a home before they leave town.

It was agreed on that we would help them catch Oscar, send him to the vet for a full medical check-up, vaccinate and microchip him, as well as have him sterilized then return him to the family while they looked for a family to adopt him permanently. The entire vet bill was to be paid for by Hope Dog Rescue.

This is Oscar in the garden

We kept our side of the agreement but unfortunately, the family didn’t.

As soon as we took Oscar to the vet, the family called and said they no longer wanted Oscar back in their home and if we did return him, they would call AVA to take him away. Their reason was that Oscar had caused their senior Golden Retriever to have a maggot wound. How on earth did that happen, we don't exactly know. Oscar was clean, there were no flies swarming around him and for a wound to have maggots, it would mean that the dog had an original wound and that it had probably been neglected.

We offered to bathe Oscar so he would be clean. We even advised the family to separate the dogs, to keep Oscar in the garden and their dog inside the house but they said it was not possible. Oscar just had to go.

We were shocked and at a loss! Where would we put him? We paid for him to stay at the vet an extra day, hopefully to buy time and have them change their minds about calling the authorities on him but they were adamant about it and we had nowhere for Oscar to go, so we dropped him off back outside their home and watched Oscar crawl in from under the fence where he had dug a hole. The family was extremely angry that we had put Oscar back without their approval, but we didn’t. Oscar had gone in on his own! Besides, wasn’t Oscar from their home to start with?

Oscar needs you to save his life before the authorities come for him on Wednesday

Oscar's escape route

They have now told Sharon that Oscar has 3 days to be out before they call the authorities on him. This means by Wednesday, 26 February 2014, Oscar needs to find a home or else he will be taken away by the authorities. Time is of the essence.

Sadly, we can’t take Oscar as we already have 19 dogs and they have yet to be rehomed. We won’t be accepting boarding sponsors either because sometimes these dogs take years to be rehomed and we definitely can’t afford to maintain him for that long.

And so Oscar has a deadline on his head. If you can adopt him right away, please call Sharon at 96513565.

Written By Lim Yunlu

ADOPTION DRIVE This Saturday at Singapore Polo Club (22 February 2014)

Join us at our adoption drive, brought to you by Exclusively Mongrels, and meet our little furkids. These little ones deserve a new home and they will be at Singapore Polo Club to interact with everyone.

When: 22 February 2014 (Saturday)
Time: 11am – 3pm
Where: Singapore Polo Club, Covered Arena, 80 Mount Pleasant Road

All these dogs have amazing stories of their bravery, courage and survival to share with you. Each one of them is unique in their own special way. They are all fully vaccinated and sterilised.

Our dogs are friendly, well-socialised and ready to embark on a new journey to a new home. They range from 4-months of age to 8-years-old. Angel, at 8-years-old, still behaves like a puppy and the rest of our pack are all local crossbreeds. These local street dogs are known to be one of the hardiest, most intelligent breeds around! Well, look at how well they have endured and survived!

Sasha, Female, Local crossbreed, moderate energy, 3-years-old

Blake, Male, Local crossbreed, moderate energy, 8-months-old (Puppy)

Happy, Female, Local crossbreed, moderate energy, 2-years-old 

Walter, Male, Local crossbreed, moderate energy, 2-years-old

Harper, Female, Local crossbreed, low energy, 11-months-old

Timothy, Male, Local crossbreed, moderate energy, 6-years-old

Jerry, Male, Local crossbreed, moderate energy, 11-months-old

Elmo, Male, low energy, 1 year old (breed unknown)

Alfie, Male, Local crossbreed, low energy, 2-years-old

Marni, Female, Local crossbreed, low to moderate energy, 2-years-old

Oscar, Male, Local crossbreed, low energy, 2-years-old

Poppy, Female, Sharpei cross, moderate energy, 6-months-old (Puppy)

Marigold, Female, Sharpei cross, moderate energy, 6-months-old (Puppy)

Leila, Female, Sharpei cross, moderate energy, 6-months-old (Puppy)

Little Duchess, Female, Local breed, moderate energy, 4-months-old (Puppy)

Angel, Female, Jack Russell Terrier, high energy, 8-years-old

So, what are you waiting for? Come meet them, tell your friends about our adoption drive, share the news and come on down to say hi to our brave little ones!

We would also like to take this opportunity to thank Exclusive Mongrels for inviting us!

P.S. You can also grab a copy of our HOPE 2014 calendar at just $5!

Valentine’s Day With A Four-Legged

As Valentine’s Day approaches, we sometimes get carried away with all that hype but the best part about having a four-legged partner is that their love for you is unconditional, something you get all year round, not just on Valentine’s Day!

Jaspar and his mommy (Read about Jaspar's rescue)

COMMITMENT. LOYALTY. TRUST.

Not very much that they ask for and in return, you get their devoted love and a forever family!

How often would you find someone crazy and madly in love with you! You’ll easily find that in your four –legged partner, regardless of whether you’re feeling up, down, happy or sad.

Lulu's new mini owner, whom she loves very much.

Cooper, a true gentleman, has been adopted and so loved now.

Your best furry pal would love to spend this special day and everyday with you. No need for expensive holidays, cruises or flowers. Especially NO CHOCOLATES! He’s a cheap date and too good a friend to pressure you into fine dining and expensive dates – in fact, a walk in the park and getting dirty in the mud would be the best gift he could ever have! Lying on the grass, basking in the sun, tossing a few balls – way cheaper and more exciting than golf. He may expect a kiss from you at the end of the night, but he sure won’t tell you your breath smells!

Sparky and Momo - siblings who were adopted as cute puppies and then returned, finally found true love after more than a year in the kennels.

Although your dog loves routines, he is happy with your flexibility. Come home late without an excuse and he is still happy to see you. You can even celebrate Valentine’s Day with him another day and he won’t even mind at all! He probably won’t even notice!

So dogs make the best loves in the world!! If you have a dog, go give him a big hug and kiss. They may seem like they don’t understand your words, but they definitely understand the feelings behind a hug.

Watch a happy video on our doggies that have found love. 

Our wish for all our rescued doggies who have yet to find homes and a family of their own, we hope they find the love and happiness they deserve REAL SOON!

Be spoiled for choice. Take your pick from our wide selection of dogs. 

ADOPT A DOG OR TWO. Email hopedogrescue@singnet.com.sg