BB Girl’s 2025 Summary - The Year Her Life Changed Forever

It’s hard to believe that just three months ago, BB Girl was wandering the streets as a sick stray. Weak, frightened, and carrying a huge tumor on her neck that made every step painful, she had no one to turn to. Living under a lorry and growing weaker by the day, her body was slowly failing her.

Watch her video here.

But everything changed the day she was rescued. A regular feeder in the area noticed her deteriorating state and called for help. BB Girl was immediately warded at the vet, where doctors discovered that the large tumor on her neck was filled with pus. It had to be drained daily to ease her suffering, while she was also started on heart medication and antibiotics. Her prognosis was grim — her face was severely swollen, she had no appetite, was lethargic, and her red blood count was dropping. She was not expected to survive the next few days. Yet, volunteers rallied around her, cooking special meals for her and spending time by her side at the clinic. Surrounded by love, care, and medical support, BB Girl refused to give up — and day by day, she grew stronger.

After she was discharged, BB Girl continued weekly vet visits where the pus in her tumor was drained, and each time the swelling reduced a little more. The vets then began stem cell treatment to help shrink the mass further. Through it all, BB Girl remained sweet, gentle and accepting of the help from humans whom she had never known as a stray.

From those fragile first days, she has come so far. In foster care, she has found safety, comfort, and love. She enjoys her daily walks, yummy home-cooked meals and lots of cuddles. Today, BB Girl is no longer the sick stray she once was. She is brighter, stronger, and happier — wagging her tail, soaking up affection, and discovering what it means to feel safe.
Soon, we will need to decide whether surgery is the best option to remove her tumor mass, or if she can continue as she is.

Her journey is far from over, but the transformation she has made in just three months is nothing short of remarkable. And it’s all thanks to your support and contributions — you gave BB Girl the chance to fight, and she has seized it with all her heart.

BB Girl’s story. 

2025: The Year of Our Brave Warrior, Mr. White

As we close the chapter on 2025, we find ourselves reflecting on the dog who has taught us more about resilience, quiet strength, and grace than any other. Our dear Mr. White.
If you’ve followed Mr. White’s journey since he was first found, lost and neglected in early 2024, you know his path hasn’t been easy. But 2025 was a year of immense challenges that truly tested his spirit.

The Weight of the Year
This year, Mr. White’s health has been a delicate balancing act. He has battled two types of cancer—oil gland cancer and most likely oral cancer, with painful ulcers stretching from his throat to his mouth. His skin has remained a constant struggle, with sores and blisters on his legs that require frequent vet visits and constant tweaking of his steroid dosages.
Perhaps the hardest part to watch is his battle with dementia. We’ve spent many nights with him as he walks into the wee hours of the morning, driven by a restless mind until his legs give way from pure exhaustion.


The Moments of Joy
But even in the shadows of illness, there were beautiful rays of light. Despite everything, Mr. White’s spirit hasn’t broken.  He still greets every meal with pure enthusiasm—a small but mighty sign that he isn't giving up.  He enjoys his twice-weekly massages, which soothe his tired, aching body.  He has found companionship in his twice-weekly outings with his fellow rescue friends.  And the highlight of his year? His very first trip to the beach! To see this sweet, long-suffering soul feel the sand under his paws and the sea breeze on his face for the first time in his life... there wasn't a dry eye among our volunteers.


A Community of Hope
Mr. White is a "long-suffering" dog, but he is also a deeply loved one. He doesn’t walk this path alone. Every vet visit, every specialized treatment, and every comfort provided to him is only possible because of YOU. Keeping a dog with such complex needs "afloat" is a massive undertaking, both emotionally and financially.
Thank you for standing by Mr. White. He may be fragile, and his body may be failing him, but his heart remains full of the love you’ve helped us give him. Here’s to continuing to provide him with the dignity, comfort, and peace he deserves.

Watch his video here.

An Update on Ariel — January 2026

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.

A midnight plea

Homeless. Not just the dogs but their humans as well ☹

A late night message reported that a family and their two dogs were sitting at a Jurong HDB void deck with all their belongings, suggesting they might need help.

The messages asked if we could go down and help the dogs, who were grossly neglected and famished. Kind dog lovers living in the vicinity rushed down to feed the dogs food and water, which they wolfed down very quickly. 

The neglected poodle

Poodle's nails and badly matted paw

Getting a shave and blood tests at the vet 

Our volunteers went down the next morning and found them still at the void deck and felt terribly sorry for the dogs. One dog, the poodle, was roaming the void deck and approached us when we arrived. The sight of the poodle was extremely shocking – we had a hard time trying to figure out where his face was! The poodle was in such a bad state of neglect, we couldn’t even begin to imagine how he had been living; how sorry we felt for him. His nails were so long, they curled sideways – how did he even walk without feeling pain and discomfort? Or had he gotten used to the pain? His eyes were totally covered with badly matted fur, almost blocking his vision. And the stench from him  . . . . that stench lingered in the volunteer’s car long after he had been dropped off at the vet.

The malnourished chihuahua

The other dog, a chihuahua, was in a backpack. Both are 11 years old. The ribs on the chihuahua were very obvious; poor little one must have been living a life as hard as his humans. Because the chihuahua was short coated, his physical appearance was not as horrific as the poodle, other than his protruding ribs, long nails and rotten teeth. 

We offered to take both dogs to the vet immediately, where the poodle was immediately shaved down and more than an hour later, we could finally see his eyes and he was even skinnier than the chihuahua ☹ He must have felt so relieved to feel so clean and fresh again. Both dogs were totally famished, they ate so fast and then vomited ☹

Apart from malnourishment, dehydration and slightly high kidney & liver readings, both dogs, thankfully, do not have major health issues. Both however, have extremely decayed teeth and mouths that smell like a really bad sewer. 

The case has been reported to the relevant agencies and a social worker is in contact with the family to assist in getting them proper lodging etc

The dogs will undergo dental when their body scores are better.

If you would like to help us with their vet bills and dogs’ living expenses while their case is pending, please drop us an email hopedogrescue@singnet.com.sg

BB Girl, The Stray That Lives Under The Lorry (New Rescue)

Amidst the recent rough handling / trapping of the Seletar farm dogs, humane trappers do exist with kinder, more professional ways of trapping strays. 

We were contacted by SOSD if we could take in a stray with a huge tumour on its neck. One of the feeders called AVS for help as the dog was very lethargic and not moving. AVS contractors came down, at short notice, and gently coaxed the dog into a crate. The dog was rushed to one of AVS appointed clinics for initial treatment. Subsequently, SOSD claimed the dog from AVS once we confirmed taking in the dog.

According to her feeders, the tumour has been hanging on the dog's neck and getting bigger for 5 years. We hope it is still possible to save her.

BB Girl has been checked by our regular vet and warded. BB’s entire body was covered with fleas! She has Grade 5 heart murmur, too weak to walk / stand on her own, not eating much, lethargic and apart from the huge tumour on her neck that possibly weighs 3kg to 4kg, she also has many skin lesions on her body. We don’t know how old she is. 

BB spent her days living under a lorry. 

Strays live extremely hard lives, often with nobody caring whether they are sick, or if they live or die. Fortunately, BB had her supply of regular meals from her feeders, who looked out for her and her doggy friends. 

She is now warded at our regular vet, with xrays and ultrasound scans planned to see if the tumour is cancerous and if it has spread. A CT scan (which is costly) might be required to determine the specific area the tumour is attached to. Surgery to remove the tumour is an option but we have to wait for the results of the scans etc and also for her condition to stabilize. She has just started on heart meds, some pain relief, as well as anti-nausea meds. Because of the poor state she is in, we have to take things slow or risk her having a cardiac arrest.

We hope to be able to give her some comfort and a sense of security. Doesn’t matter how much time she has with us, we hope that we can assure her that we will do our best to help her.

If you would like to give BB a chance at survival, please email hopedogrescue@singnet.com.sg

Ariel; her life wasn't a fairy tale

How can anyone bear to watch their dog suffer and not do anything about it? 

How can they feel that such negligence is ok? 

These were the questions that went through our minds when we saw her. 

Meet Ariel, our latest rescued Shih Tzu. 

Life has not been kind to sweet Ariel

We were informed of her plight when she was brought in for grooming in a horrific state. Luckily, she met a responsible groomer who recognized that she needed help and took the initiative to convince the owner to surrender the dog. 

Left with one eye 

Ariel was emaciated, reeked of urine and had nails so long, they curled sideways. Imagine the pain and discomfort just trying to stand upright. We suspect she might have been caged in her own filth as her fur was urine stained / soaked. On top of all that, one of her eyes had been surgically removed due to a prior infection.  We can't even imagine the pain and suffering the sweet dog has been through. 

Urine soaked/ stained fur

Her fur was so badly matted 😱

Skin and bones beneath all that fur 💔

Hello sweet Ariel 💗

We would like to thank the groomer for being so pro-active and also the owner for giving up the dog for her better good. 

Ariel is estimated to be between 10 to 12 years old. She is not sterilized and we can feel some lumps on her nipples.  We will be sending her to the vet for a full medical asap.

Please help Ariel on this new chapter of her life by contributing to her vet bills.

Drop us an email at hopedogrescue@singnet.com.sg

What Causes Bad Breath in Dogs?

 Does your dog have bad breath?

Do you find that you recoil from your pup when they come in for a cuddle? Bad breath is quite common in our canine companions — especially as they grow older — and can be a sign of serious health issues in your pooch.

While it's perfectly normal for your pup to have some smell on their breath from eating, playing with toys and just generally living their lives, this smell can sometimes grow into a stink that repels all but the bravest pup parents.

And while you may be tempted to just grin and bear the smell, more often than not the stink in your dog's bad breath is actually a sign of an underlying health issue that is causing the smell. There are a number of different possible causes of bad breath in your dog, but the most common are kidney disease, liver disease and oral health issues.

Kidney Disease

If your pup's bad breath smells like feces or urine, it may be a sign that they have recently eaten poop (which is something you should look into on its own) or a symptom of kidney issues. 

If your dog's kidneys aren't working properly to filter and process toxins and waste materials, their buildup in the pup's body may be contributing to the bad smell of their breath on top of harming your dog's health.

Liver Disease

If your dog has recently developed seriously bad breath and their new scent is accompanied by concerning symptoms like vomiting and diarrhea, they may have a liver disease at the root cause of their symptoms.  

Oral Health Issues

The most common cause of bad breath in dogs, oral health issues is an umbrella term including health issues ranging from tooth decay to gum disease and oral infections. Regardless of the precise cause, bacteria and food debris build up over time in your pooch's mouth if not regularly cleaned away, creating plaque and a persistent smell. 

If your dog's breath smells a little bit, it is likely caused by emerging oral health issues. Although if they are left unchecked, the smell will become much stronger and your pet's oral health and wellbeing will continue to decline. 

How to Treat Bad Breath in Dogs?

The reason why your dog has bad breath will largely influence the kind of treatment they will require. Since bad breath is a sign of an underlying health condition rather than a health problem itself, it should dissipate once the underlying problem is successfully treated.

That being said, whenever you notice a change in the smell of your dog's breath you shouldn't assume its cause or that it is normal. Bring your pup to your vet as soon as possible for examination and diagnosis, since a number of causes of bad breath can be very serious health issues. Treatments at your vets can range from prescription medications, specialized diets, therapies and even surgeries to help treat your pet's condition depending on what part of their body it affects and its severity.