At Hope Dog Rescue, we do-nut give up on any dog. This new year, we nearly started the year on nut a very nice note by having to make the painful decision to put down a dog we rescued on the eve of new year’s eve. Her name is Donut. (Watch her rescue here)
She sure is one sweet and hole-some doggie whom we do-nut have the heart to bid farewell to. We are glad we did nut give up on her and gave her the chance to continue experiencing the new year. When you look at her eyes, they are as sweet as donuts and so sparkly and hopeful. Just like donuts, she makes us happy. So, what happened to Donut and how is she doing now?
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| When we found her at the factory |
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| In too much pain to eat or move |
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| Saturday's emergency |
Last Saturday night, what started as a mirthful eve of new year’s eve feast for the doggies ended on a tragic note as what nearly became “the last supper” for Donut. As usual, we went on our weekly rounds to feed the stray doggies in an industrial estate. When we reached Raphael’s factory, we were greeted by one less doggie and informed by one of the kind security guards there that the missing doggie was injured. The kind guard guided us towards a gory scene of the poor missing doggie lying in a pool of blood. This missing doggie was Donut. We were horrified.
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| Warded since Saturday night |
As fate would have it, Donut, from Raphael’s pack, suffered a similar but worse fate than Raphael and got hit by a car at 6pm in the evening, slightly before we arrived to feed the doggies there. The poor strays are always at the mercy of speeding trucks and lorries in the industrial areas. We were shattered. The poor girl must have been in excruciating pain. She cowered in a corner until we tried to leash her. Despite her injuries and her inability to walk on all fours, her natural instinct was to run away from us when we tried to catch her to bring her to the vet. It pained us to see how she wobbled in pain. After about 20 minutes of playing cat and mouse and an episode of Donut snapping from fear and distress, we finally managed to carry her into our volunteer’s car and rush her to the vet.
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| As sweet as Raphael |
At the vet, we muzzled Donut and used a towel to cover her head to alleviate her stress. Her body was covered in cuts, abrasions, bruises and blood. The fresh blood meant that the security guards were right in saying that the fateful accident occurred just moments prior to our arrival. The vet attempted to get Donut to stand but she could not. The poor girl must have been in too much pain. Yet, there was not once that she whimpered or protested. She is such a sweetie. At 30kg, Donut is also one solid girl. Although the workers called her Fatty, she is not exactly fat. She is just solid.
The vet cleaned Donut’s wounds and checked her injuries. The initial examination revealed a broken nail and perhaps some fractures in her legs. The vet also said Donut might have ruptured her bladder. We would need to monitor her poo and pee. The x-ray done the following morning showed that what we had initially thought was a broken front left leg was actually a dislocated spine. Poor Donut. Will she be another Matthieu, Sida or Harper? What does fate have in store for her? So many questions raced through our minds. Donut looks about 5 to 6 years old. She should still have many golden years ahead of her. Yet, this had to happen. Poor Donut.
We had initially been prepared to proceed with surgery and give Donut a chance to recover. Sadly, the vet who had done lots of research on spinal problems informed us that while he could proceed with the spinal surgery, there was a lot of poo in Donut that she could not excrete on her own due to the loss of sensation in her lower body and inability for her anal sphincter to contract. There was no guarantee that the spinal surgery could rectify this issue. What if Donut still could not poo after the surgery? She would be leading a life worse than Sida’s, Matthieu’s or Harper’s. At least the diaper club doggies can poo on their own. Imagine having to wait for someone to push your poo out for you every day. How unbearable! Our hearts really sank to the valleys when the vet broke the news to us. We could not stop crying but had to pull ourselves together and make a quick decision whether to proceed with surgery or put Donut down as it was ideal for the surgery to be performed within 48 hours. This was Hobson’s choice.
After considering the poor quality of life that Donut would have if she cannot poo voluntarily and the number of dogs that can be saved with the hefty vet bill that Donut would chalk up with the surgery that may or may not succeed, it seemed to us that the more logical decision would be to let Donut run freely on the other side of the rainbow bridge, and we nearly made that decision. We had already booked a slot for Donut’s cremation. Yet, something just did not feel right. We watched and rewatched the videos of her running away despite being in such pain and visited her at the vet. She was sprightly and alert and her eyes were brimming with hope and life. She had such a cute face and was smiling despite her ordeal. How could anyone let her go? She seemed to be saying “please do-nut give up on me! I promise to be good and stay inside the factory. I won’t go outside and get into trouble again.” Looking at her sweet face, we decided to keep her under observation and pray and hope for the best. We will focus on the Donut and not the hole.
At the moment, Donut is on painkillers and mild sedatives. She is still not emptying her bladder on her own despite having a full bladder. Her appetite is also poor. We are really worried about her. We hope she can stay strong and recover soon. Donut’s bills to date amount to about S$4,000+. If she undergoes surgery and stays at the vet for about 7 days to recover, her bills may go up to the region of more than S$10,000. Due to the long weekend, her bills would be even higher. This new year, will you help us to create a miracle? Do-nut forget that a little kindness goes a long way. Please help us to pray hard that Donut will start to pee and poo without external help soon. If it is within your means to help with Donut’s vet bills, please email us at hopedogrescue@singnet.com.sg.
Thank you! Hugs and kisses from Donut.
Written by: Weiling
