It has been about three weeks since Jolly was found abandoned outside a HDB unit (you may read about it here.)
 |
| This was Jolly when we first laid eyes on her |
We have since brought her to the vet a couple of times for review, and we are glad to see she's doing better now than when we first met her! Jolly is estimated to be about 10 to 12 years old and has a healthy weight of 3.8 kg. She’s a very small sized Shihtzu.
During her second visit to the vet, we managed to find out more about her health conditions. The vet thinks there's no need for dental but has prescribed dental gel to be applied twice a day for her gingivitis condition. She is also given three types of eye drops for her red eyes and these have to be applied four times a day.
 |
| Jolly at the vet for her review |
We believe she still has her sense of hearing, albeit weak, as she can't pinpoint the sources of loud noises. However, when we tried to call her loudly, she panics and scrambles to hide herself. It makes us wonder if this could have reminded her of her abusive past.
We also found out that she has mild collapsed trachea which explains her occasional loud breathing. As for that long scar across her chest, three vets have confirmed that it was to remove her mammary tumours (breast cancer) and now she has two other lumps in her breast. Although there is no cause for concern yet, we will need to monitor that closely.
We thought life could only get better for Jolly now that she's safe with us but sadly, that was not all to it.
Even though Jolly had completed her course of antibiotics prescribed at the very first visit to the vet for bladder stones and urinary tract infection, Jolly's fosterer observed something out of the norm.
 |
| Cute little grandma |
Jolly would constantly squat every few minutes to pee and poo. However, nothing came out most of the times when she squatted to poo. This was an unusual behaviour and the fosterer suspected something may be blocking. So we made an ultrasound appointment with a more experienced vet.
The ultrasound proved that the fosterer's suspicion was right. There is a huge mass in that small body. The mass measures 9mm x 5mm, pressing against and blocking ¼ of Jolly's bladder, which explains why she keeps having the feeling to pee and poo. Poor Jolly could not clear her system due to the blockage.
We have made an appointment with our favourite vet this week, and we hope to arrange for a surgery to remove the mass soon.
Poor old Jolly should be enjoying life at this ripe age but all we see is a very sad dog who spends her days hiding, sleeping or staring blankly ahead. While she loves her food, she is not greedy and will walk away when she's full. We can only hope that Jolly will be fine and recover well after the surgery, as she really deserves all the love and happiness after everything she had gone through.
And above all this, Jolly is the sweetest. She goes to sleep after eating and she will walk to the pee pad to pee. She is happiest when you carry her and will just fall asleep in your arms.
Writer: Shi Hua
