In the midst of searching for missing Molly, Lily and I were recalled from the search to rescue a puppy that's been ran over by a car in Jurong. It was close to midnight when we reached and the area was pitch black. We were surrounded by tall ominous containers and driving into deep rainwater-filled pot holes. Except for the stray dogs running around, not a soul was seen. No one is going to hear us even if we were to burst our lungs screaming. Fearing for our own safety, we harboured selfish thoughts of turning back. But edging each other on to keep going, we were finally rewarded with the sight of the injured puppy frantically wagging his tails gratefully.
And this grateful little puppy, we named Cooper.
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| Sweet baby Cooper |
Cooper was first noticed by a lady about a month ago, while she was feeding strays in that industrial area. Cooper was a timid dog and often hid under the container, refusing to come forward when called. However, he disappeared a week later and the security guards in the area told her that he had an accident. But as he was a stray, even though knowing that he had an accident, no one bothered to search for him. Life of a stray - a dog, a cockroach, what's the difference?
But luckily for Cooper, this kind lady spotted him again. However, this time she witnessed a car ran over him and sped off. (You will be horrified to learn that this is 6 months old Cooper's 3rd accident!) She actually saw the tyre run over the back of his tiny body, rendering him unmovable on the road. The poor little baby was howling and crying in excruciating agony. (Watch the video and when you hear his cries, you'll be crying along with him too.) And in desperation, she called HOPE Dog Rescue for help.
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| Relieved to be held in the caring arms of the vet tech |
My heart went out to him when I first laid eyes on him. Despite the pain, he was so happy to see me that he tried to stand and come forward to me. Me - a complete stranger. He is so trusting and innocent. How he had longed for love and affection. I swept him into my arms and bundled him into the car. His fur was caked with a mixture of grease, sand and rainwater. He had never had a clean day in his life. When the car moved off, its jerking movement sent Cooper shrieking in pain. The poor boy was in obvious distress as we drove over the many humps and bumps as we rushed him to A&E in the middle of the night. I held him close and tried to lift him off his bottom to alleviate his pain. I crooned into his ears to reassure him and gradually I felt him relax slightly as he fell into a fitful sleep with his head buried into my neck.
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| Baby Cooper in pain |
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| Feeling sorry for himself |
An x-ray was immediately carried out at The Animal Doctors and we found out that in addition to his current hip fracture, he had 2 different old fractures to each of his legs. The right leg had an old fracture that had fused back. His left leg also had an old fracture but this one, the bone had fused back in an awkward position. This made his left leg look swollen and about an inch shorter than the right. This however does not cause him pain and he is able to live with it. The sheer thought of a small 6 months old puppy suffering from 3 different episodes of fracture was extremely upsetting. He is just a baby and he had already gone through so much. Life on the streets is a harsh reality. The life and death of a stray means nothing to many.
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Swollen joints from previous accidents
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Too painful to stand upright
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He needs to sit at this angle for it not to hurt
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Abrasions from his traffic accident
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| Falling asleep from exhaustion |
Cooper needed an orthopaedic surgeon to repair his hip fracture and was thus referred to Dr Ben Landon, an orthopaedic specialist. Almost a week had passed and we noticed that his muscles were wasting away. We were also worried that his bones would fuse in the wrong place just like his left leg. So although we were severely short of funds, we decided that we could not afford to wait and arranged for surgery.
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| Muscles started wasting away and so we had to proceed with surgery |
In the middle of the operation, I received a call to inform me that the surgery had gone on for more than 3 hours and try as they might, the bones on his right hip was shattered beyond repair. It is too dangerous for Cooper to be under general anaesthesia for that long and they needed to quickly finish up to wake him up. So the surgeon did the best he can to salvage by using the muscles to hold the bones together instead. The repair to his left hip was thankfully uneventful and it went very well. I was reassured that in spite of the condition of his right hip, Cooper will still make a wonderful recovery with good prognosis because of his young age and that he is not heavy.
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| The bones could not be joined together as they were too shattered but the muscles hold the bones in place |
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| Screws to hold his pevis in place |
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| Ready to leave the orthopaedic specialist 3 days after surgery and head back to The Animal Doctors as we don't have anyone to foster Cooper. |
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| Right hip |
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| Left hip |
Cooper is now back in The Animal Doctors but he needs a foster / adopter as soon as possible. We cannot put him back onto the streets. He needs post-operative care and also needs to be confined to a small area to restrict his movement. He is relatively easy to foster as he is not a noisy puppy and is pee pad trained! He is an intelligent little pup and taught himself that!
The surgery fees and vet bills has amounted to a staggering $7000. All of us in HOPE Dog Rescue are having sleepless nights over his bills. Human kind has let him down enough, please don't let him down now too. Please email fiona@hopedogrescue.org to donate or adopt/ foster.
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| Please help with Cooper's surgery fees and give this sweetheart a home |
Written by Esther Low
