18.11.20

Yet Another Abandoned Dog

You might recall reading about this shihtzu a few of weeks ago. He was found wandering on the streets along Upper Thomson Road by @JeffCake on 24 October. Jeff had kindly taken him home and cared for him. After 3 weeks, he somehow managed to trace and locate the owner, who claimed that he had given the dog to a friend earlier but his friend must have abandoned it.


Sadly, the original owner was not interested to get his dog back and instead told Jeff to keep the dog. Jeff was delighted and had continued to care for the shihtzu for almost a month. However, this happy ending did not last.

On 14 Nov, we were alerted to an adoption post put up by Jeff. Despite his good intentions and best efforts, he realized that he did not have the time and capacity to continue caring for the dog as he's currently in the army. He had also already spent $405 on the dog’s vet bills and could no longer afford to keep it, especially in the long run, as the dog has chronic ear and eye problems which would require long-term treatments. Dry eyes is a common issue in the shihtzu breed.

Ear infection

We contacted Jeff and after a few days, he finally got back to us and agreed to surrender the dog to HOPE. He also requested for us to reimburse him for the $405 that he had spent on the dog, which we agreed to and paid him immediately.

Bad skin infection, scratching constantly and smelling very yeasty

As with all new rescues, we will always send them for a full medical screening which includes not just a general check-up, but also blood tests for kidney and liver profile, heartworm and tick fever. We also plan to do a heart and abdomen ultrasound scan as the dog is not young. He looks to be about 10 to 12 years old and we felt that it would be good to know if he has any hidden health issues.

We have named him Isaac, which means to laugh and rejoice. That is our wish for him moving forward.

If you would like to help with his vet bills, please email hopedogrescue@singnet.com.sg for more information. Isaac will be up for adoption when he is ready.


Photo credit @Jeffcake

Written by Alina Tee