Yoga Cat

We had just started counting cats for spaying on our usual feeding rounds when we saw a lone cat sitting at a distance next to a worker. We felt something was amiss, so we called out to the worker and asked why the cat was on its own.

“Oh, leg no more, no walk,” he called back to us.

A worker showing us the injured cat

Immediately, I panicked and asked him to carry the cat over so that I could have a look. The moment I laid eyes on her, I was shocked beyond words. Her hind legs were so badly broken that she could not stand. They were sticking out in completely wrong directions. It was obvious that it was an old injury, as her bones had fused solid at those awkward angles. Just look at the photos and imagine the pain the cat would have gone through, dragging her wasted legs behind her for months as her broken bones mended themselves slowly, in all the wrong ways.

She can no longer bend her right hind leg
 

Look at this poor cat! Her left hind was in an entirely wrong angle!
 

She had not had a proper meal in a long while as there was no way she could get about without being mauled by dogs

By this time, Burmese workers from around the area had gathered around the scene. They informed me that, some time ago, people had clubbed the cat with a “kayu” – which means wooden stick in Malay. Saddened but furious, I demanded to know who could possibly have done such a thing to her. Immediately, the workers clammed up and shook their heads. They probably didn’t want trouble at the work place. It was infuriating, but there was nothing more we could do about the incident.
 



At the vet



Look at the sorry state she was in. Her limbs were all wrong!

How could any human possibly be so evil to beat a living creature to this extent?

We scooped the cat from the worker’s arms and propped her up on a high wooden box, safe from the stray dogs, so that she could eat. She was mere skin and bones; we could feel every detail in her fragile skeletal frame as we carried her. The poor starved kitty probably never had a good chance to forage for food in her condition. She hungrily wolfed down three whole cans of canned food as we watched. Although she was a little shy, she was truly a friendly and sweet creature.

 

After she was finally done eating, we placed the cat into a carrier and brought her straight to the vet. Unfortunately, we were told that there was no way her legs could be saved. Amputation was the only option. Right now, she gets around by pulling herself along on the ground with her 2 front paws, dragging her back legs behind her as she moves. The vet believes that amputating her hind legs would make it easier for her to “walk”.

Look how her legs fused in the wrong direction after the bones joined. Imagine the pain and suffering she has gone through

Talk about animal cruelty! We simply cannot imagine why or how someone could do this to a tiny, defenseless creature, why anyone would abuse and torture innocent animals. Imagine the pain this cat has gone through, and how her life has been changed irrevocably because of a single act of meaningless violence. She’s a trooper, she survived; but there are millions of animals out there who are still being abused and who aren’t so lucky.
 

If you see cases of animal abuse, please notify the authorities or call an animal welfare organization. Every life is worth saving.

Written by Elena Lin

Murphy, Saved From A Breeding Farm

On 20 Aug 2011, a painful decision was made to relieve Precious, our pet dog for the past 11 years, of further pain and suffering. It was a heartbreaking experience for us.

“No more pets” was what Mum told me, knowing the heartache we had gone through after trying everything under the sun to save her.

Days rolled by with the ever-growing void that “Preshie” had left behind and every day I silently hoped that I would come home to a surprise --- a doggie waiting to greet me. That never happened.

Sometime in October 2011, I ‘caught’ Mum scrolling through the SPCA adoption gallery page and asked if she had second thoughts of owning a pet again. She tried to brush it off with “I don’t think Dad will agree to that”.

I recalled Joanne (a course mate) had mentioned a dog adoption drive by HOPE Dog Rescue. I searched the website and found that the adoption drive was over. But Mum had fallen instantly in love with Murphy (one of the Famous 5 up for adoption) and I pleaded for her to check if he was still available. She advised me to “check with Dad first”.



At the breeding farm. So many dogs in a small cage. This is how they live all their lives.

Saved!

Day he was rescued.

Murphy

Dad said “yes”! I immediately sent an sms to the contact person (Lisa) to enquire if Murphy had been adopted yet.

The next morning, Lisa sms-ed Mum to say “ Murphy was still available for adoption” and that she could send us the adoption questionnaire. Mum then sms-ed me with the news while I was on the MRT to school and I literally squealed in excitement --- the possibility of adoption!

His very first bath after the rescue

After some anxious waiting -- the short-listing process and house checks that had to be carried out, an email arrived from Fiona confirming that Murphy was finally ours! And we hadn't even met him yet!!

Murphy’s arrival to our home on 4 Nov 2011 certainly lifted the gloom in our household. Our Malti-poo has since brought us so much joy and laughter and is a Light in Our Life.

Thank you HOPE Dog Rescue for saving Murphy from the breeding farm and giving us the opportunity to provide him a life he truly deserves.

Murphy just celebrated his 2nd birthday in May 2013

Murphy – our fluff ball



Murphy and Me as he is today





Murphy on the right, while mommy holds on to Cotton at our recent Meet Cotton & Harper session

Contributed by: Larissa Ng

What A Little Love Can Do!

Sandy was waiting for her friend at the lobby of an apartment when she noticed a dog sitting alone in a corner. Curious, she approached the dog. As she drew closer, the acrid stench of urine wafted towards her and she knew that something wasn't right. The smell grew stronger and more overwhelming, until Sandy was close enough to see that the little dog's fur was matted, covered with her own stools, and that her nails were way too long. She looked confused and hungry. 


When we found her

Sandy immediately phoned her friend, who then brought some dog snacks for the starving animal. The dog quickly wolfed down the meagre meal without hesitation. Judging from how hungry and eager she was, it was definitely not enough. She had obviously been neglected for quite a while. 

Indignant and concerned, Sandy approached the security guards for more details. She was told that the woman who used to take care of the dog had kicked her out of the house that morning. The management had knocked on her door a few times during the day, but she flatly refused to take the dog back. Bewildered by this unusual situation, Sandy pressed further. According to the security guards, that woman used to love this dog a lot but then rumours started going around that she had become mentally unsound. So when the poor, confused dog wandered around the apartment complex and did her business along the corridor, her owner actually threw some of that poo at a neighbour’s door. The guards only learnt about this after her neighbour called the cops. 

 

The police arrived to investigate and take statements; the authorities were subsequently informed of this abandonment case, so Sandy decided to wait for them to arrive. Meanwhile, she lodged a case with the SPCA to file a report of neglect. SPCA replied that their inspector will drop by to check if the owner is able to provide adequate care for the dog. 1.5 hours of silence passed before Sandy made up her mind to attend to the poor dog on her own because she felt the dog required immediate care. 

She contacted HOPE Dog Rescue, and left a copy of her IC with the management in case the owner or the authorities arrived with enquiries. With our advice, Sandy then rushed the dog to a vet. We named her Lucky. Lucky had a thorough medical check at the vet, and it was revealed that her eyes were cloudy and dry; hence they did not produce tears. Although this is a common problem in the breed, Lucky’s condition was likely exacerbated by prolonged periods of neglect. She now needs to be medicated with eye drops thrice daily, for the rest of her life. Poor Lucky is merely 2–3 years old, but has already been through so much. 


Just rescued and taken straight to the vet

 

This was what came out of the carrier



Imagine the stench and the poor dog's discomfort

Back view

She looked insane



Not being able to tell the front from the back

When we brought her to the groomer, we were told that she had probably not been groomed for a year to have become so unkempt. Her urine and poo had matted and hardened in her fur, and she had to be shaved down. After the groomer was done, it was like a new dog had emerged! We could see that she felt lighter and happier without all the grime that had been stuck to her for so long. 

 



How could anyone possibly do this to a living creature

 

Her eyes were blurred from years of neglect



Years of poo had hardened and stuck to her fur making her look like she had an extra leg

 

How would you start grooming?

Look at how long her nails were - how did she manage to even walk



Years of poo stuck on her
 

Looking almost like a normal dog



It wasn't American Ginseng. It was a lot of fur from one little dog



Getting rid of her past and starting a fresh life

 

As we could not find a foster, we boarded her at a pet shop. At first, Lucky was afraid and didn’t eat for 2 days despite her hunger. Gradually, she bloomed into a friendly and playful dog, and has learnt to trust humans again. 

Although we feel very sorry for the neglect that Lucky has had to go through in her early years, we also feel sorry for the owner who had put Lucky through it all. Like Lucky, her owner may be in need of help. It’s possible that she is unable to even care for herself, let alone a dog.  

 

Nobody deserves what’s happened to them. We would like to sincerely thank Sandy for being a kind and proactive citizen and caring for the wellbeing of another. 



As she is today, pretty and loved

Note : Lucky has been adopted by Melissa and we thank her for loving Lucky the way she does and giving her the warmth, comfort and real life she deserves!

 

Story by Elena Lin. Photographs courtesy of Lisa Goh

Help Save Oscar's Life

For those of you who have been following HOPE Dog Rescue from the start, you will remember Oscar as one of the 3 puppies that we rescued from cemetery. In that sad story, his 2 other siblings died from serious mange, a common skin disease caused by several parasite mites. The mites cause severe skin infections if they are left untreated. At the time that we found Oscar, he not only had mites, he also had a multitude of canine skin problems such as ringworms, fungal infection, demodex, and so on. Whatever canine skin problem a dog could have, Oscar had it all.

Oscar - Before. He didn't want to look at anyone.

Oscar - Now

Oscar underwent 4 months of intensive treatment to treat his ailments. He was put on a course of steroids and antibiotics treatment through injections so he spent most of his time at the kennel. He fought hard to beat his infections and the volunteers cheered him on. They took time off from work and life to take care of little Oscar, who was just a few months old then. Our dedicated volunteers took turns to ferry him weekly from kennel to vet, for 4 months until he got better. Since he was the last of the litter to survive, it was important to us that we had to rescue Oscar no matter what time and effort it took! During those days, Oscar was shy, filled with low self esteem and lacked confidence. He knew he looked bad and spent his days hiding away in a corner or shying away from us and his kennel buddies. 

Oscar spent close to 5 months at the kennel and gradually got better. A young couple, Charlene and Jon, who made every effort to connect with Oscar while he was healing, finally adopted him. They had earlier visited him during an adoption drive and even fostered him for a while before finally deciding that they wanted Oscar as a part of their family.

A loving home at long last

As with all of our adoption cases, we visited Oscar a few weeks after adoption to make sure that he was adjusting fine. Immediately we noticed that Oscar was a different dog from when we first rescued him. Then, he was a sickly dog with little to no self-esteem, which could be due to his skin condition. Like humans, dogs are very sensitive to their own condition and he probably knew what he was suffering from, and thus hid and kept very much to himself, not interacting even with the other dogs. Who would have thought this little darling could one day transform to a much confident dog that he is today.

Oscar is a very lively dog and loves to run and jog with his new owners. Jon and Charlene teach him simple commands like, 'Sit', "Paw" and “Come”, responding actively and behaving very much like how a dog should behave; wagging his tail, responding positively to humans, and interacting. It was a joy to see Oscar find a family who could give him the love he deserved. We saw him blossom from a sickly rescued stray to a handsome confident young adult.

Each & every day is a brand new refreshing experience for Oscar

Acting cute to beg for Bak Kwa during Chinese New Year

It was to be a happy ending. Unfortunately, the unexpected happened. On 3rd March Sunday, we got a call from his owners. They had brought Oscar to the vet after noticing that not only were there rashes and general itchiness on his body, Oscar was lethargic. The vet gave Oscar steroid jabs and antibiotics. When the vet tried to get Oscar to stand, he wouldn’t move and had to be lifted up for the vet to examine him properly.

A critically ill Oscar

They then decided that his condition was rather serious and put him on an IV drip, keeping him overnight at the vet for observation. Meanwhile, while his red blood count was normal, Oscar’s platelet count continued to drop. The Vet suspected that it might have been an infection in his liver as there were a lot of bacteria in his poo, so he put Oscar on a series of tests. 

By Monday, his platelet count plummeted so badly that he had an emergency plasma transfusion, although that was not enough. On Tuesday, with Rudolf’s help, Oscar managed to receive much needed blood transfusion. Despite all that the vet had done, his blood count continued to drop dangerously.

Rescued dog, Rudolf, waiting for the blood transfusion to commence.
 

Rudolf's blood typing card

Oscar's blood typing card

The vet decided to give us the bad news. Oscar might not pull through this time. When we heard that, we were in shock. Things had taken a 360 degree turn almost overnight! We told ourselves we had to mentally prepare for the worst. His family, Charlene and Jon, were extremely sad that this had happened to their precious baby. Our hearts were heavy as we watched them talk to Oscar, telling him that everything will be okay, that he had to fight this infection and get better. It was all we could do to keep ourselves from tearing, at the thought that someone in your family was slowly wasting away, and that there was nothing one could do except to pray and hope for a miracle. We had to be strong for Oscar. 

Oscar is currently warded at the vet and is in intensive care, where the owners had to pay extra for a night nurse to check on Oscar every two hours. If he pulls through the night, he would be expected to stay in ICU for up to 4 days then transferring to a normal cage for two weeks till his condition stabilizes enough for him to return home. He is on oxygen 24 hours a day (at $10 / hour) as his breathing is terribly labored.

With oxygen tube

The vet is currently testing his liver but the signs are not good; the liver is definitely failing with readings hitting 10 times higher than normal readings (which is typically kept at around 100). The ultrasound scan showed that he also has Hepatitis. No one knows what the cause of the infection is although it is suspected that Oscar may have eaten something poisonous or he developed a bacteria infection that attacked his liver. 

His kidney is also not functioning very well now and his spleen is enlarged. We can only pray that the infection does not spread any further. His temperature fluctuates, with the last reading at 40C. Oscar still eats normally but is abnormally quiet. Although his body is very hot, his limbs and ears are cold, signs that blood is not circulating properly. The vet put him on IV drip, prescription diet and liver supplements. Hopefully this would help in whatever way to keep the infection at bay. 

It is now up to Oscar to fight the infection, and we have to stand by him and support him so that he knows he’s very much loved and not alone. We appeal to your hearts to do whatever you can for Oscar; kind thoughts, prayers and funds to pay for his medical treatment. Oscar requires intensive treatment and 24 hours care at the clinic, and such treatment is very expensive. As of today, the vet bills have hit the $3,000 mark and we still have a few more weeks of hospitalization before his condition stabilizes. To date, Oscar’s owners have already settled this amount.

Oscar needs our prayers and help

Oscar’s family wants do anything they can to save their family member and have emptied whatever savings they have for Oscar. We at Hope Dog Rescue will do what we can to help one of our former rescues as the love we show our rescues do not stop once they leave our care. 

 

We hope that you can help us help Oscar. If you can find it in your heart to do so, please contact fiona@hopedogrescue.org   

 

To help with Oscar’s vet bills, please issue your cheques to The Animal Doctors Pte Ltd and send it to Block 108, Ang Mo Kio Avenue 4 (Street 11), #01-94/96, Singapore 560108. On the back of the cheque, please write “For Oscar”. 

 

We apologize that Oscar will not have any visitors for now as he needs all his strength and energy to fight this through. 

O Lord, 
Every creature, 
in every forest, field, and home, 
belongs to you, 
and is under your loving care. 
May your blessing be upon this dog, 
and, in your great kindness, 
Keep him safe from all harm. 
We pray that you would show forth your eternal love and mercy, 
in the companionship and friendship that this dog provides. 
Amen 
David Bennett. 

Written by Elaine Quek