Now you can buy HOPE!

Celebrate World Animal Day with HOPE!

HOPE’s inaugural 2013 Calendar is out! Spread some love!

Remember Prince, the skeleton dog who did not even know how to sleep lying down?

Sunday, our rescued street dog who ran out of the clinic and was found 12 days later?

Babu Boy, our hero who survived distemper and a hit and run accident.

Rei, who had slash wounds and deep cuts all over his body and was later renamed Sapporo by his adopter?

Sweet Beano, survived human abuse, chemical burns and distemper. 

George, the street dog who was so hungry he ate stones?

The stories of these dogs and others, including those rescued from breeding farms, will be featured in our 2013 calendar. For just $10/- you could save many dogs from the hardships and suffering these dogs went through.

Gracing the front cover of the calendar is Harry, a street dog that was chained on a short leash on a 6th floor factory for years. We saved and rehomed him, and for six months, before he passed on from cancer, he got to experience the warmth of human kindness and love. Harry was the reason HOPE started and it is our quest to be able to give HOPE to other dogs like him.

So please support us and join us in our venture by purchasing our HOPE 2013 calendars!

For just S$10/- per calendar, you can buy a whole lot of kindness!

1. Help with our vet bills for our rescued dogs. Vet bills inadvertently go up for dogs that require long term medical care such as old dogs and dogs with skin issues, heartworm and tick fever. Not a day goes by without us worrying about bills.
2. Put up dogs which we are unable to find a foster for at boarding kennels. As we do not have our own shelter, we pay a commercial rate to rent space at these kennels.
3. Provide food for the street and factory dogs which often live in filthy conditions and get so desperate they would even eat rubbish and stones.
4. Provide food to low income and senior citizens for their dogs.
5. Help with vet bills for low income dog-owners who love their dogs but cannot afford to take their dogs to the vet.
6. Support our Spay it Forward program, our more humane way of curbing the stray population.
7. Allow us to continue our journey in saving our furry friends, rebuild their trust in humans and try to protect more animals against unnecessary suffering.
8. Have a meaningful Christmas when you buy our calendars to give it to your friends.
9. Buy our calendars simply because you love dogs.
10. The next time you see us blogging about yet another rescued dog, you know we wouldn’t have done it without you! 

Furthermore, for orders of 10 and above you get free delivery!

To buy our calendars, please download and print the order form. Then mail out the form along with your cheque (payable to "Hope Dog Rescue") to:

Whiteclip / HOPE Dog Rescue

28 Maxwell Road

Red Dot Traffic Building

#03-11

Singapore 069120

Alternatively, you may email fiona@hopedogrescue.org and make a fund transfer.

If you wish to save on postage fees, you may purchase our calendars from these places:

Bark & Bubbles Pet Grooming Studio
37 Jalan Rumah Tinggi, Singapore 150037
Contact: 6474 3115

Big O Café & Restaurant
Wheelock Place, 501 Orchard Road, #02-04/05, Orchard, 238880
Contact: 67378472
 
CakeWalk
Blk 63B Lengkok Bahru #01-362, Singapore 152063
Contact: 6472 1107

Cecilia Westberry Beauty Spa
Blk 6 Holland Close #01-20, Singapore 271006
Contact: 6774 0449

Cinq Studio @ Scotts Square
6 Scotts Road #03-16 Singapore 228209
Contact: 6636 0100

Colbar (dog-friendly cafe!)
9A Whitchurch Road, Singapore 138839 
Contact: 6779 4859

Dog Haven
5 Jasmine Rd, Singapore 576580
Contact: 6100 9663

Doggiestyle Cafe
23 Serangoon Central, NEX #04R-72, Singapore 556083
Contact: 6648 5485

Drips Bakery Cafe
82 Tiong Poh Road, #01-05, Singapore 160082
Contact: 6222 0400

House for Pets
5 Stagmont Ring, Singapore 688241
Contact: 6367 1753

Joie The Makeup Bar
119A East Coast Road, Singapore 428806
Contact: 9385 7769

Juz Purrfect
9 One-North Gateway #01-46, One North Residence, Singapore 138643
Contact: 8418 0486

Kool Pawz (HOPE shirts and car decals also available here!)
Blk 2, Everton Park, 01-57, Singapore 081002
Contact: 6223 8309 / 96894307

Mount Pleasant Animal Medical Centre (Bedok)
Blk 158 Bedok South Ave 3, Singapore 460158
Contact: 6444 3561

Mount Pleasant Animal Medical Centre (Redhill)
Blk 113 Bukit Merah View #01-520, Singapore 150113
Contact: 6271 1132

Mount Pleasant Veterinary Centre (MPVC)
232 Whitley Road, Singapore 297824
Contact:  6251 7666
** Note: MPVC is moving soon, do call/check their website for updates!

Owls Brew
146 Mackenzie Road, Singapore 228723
Contact: 6333 3440

Paradise Pet Shop
232 Whitley Road (Mount Pleasant Veterinary Centre), Singapore City 297824
Contact: 62565525 / 62562500

Pet HQ
221 Boonlay Place, #02-112 Boonlay Shopping Centre, Singapore 640221
Contact: 6463 9177

Pets Instinct
34 Jalan Bukit Ho Swee, #01-866, Singapore 160034
Contact: 6274 0226

Polypets
109 Clementi St 11 #01-27/29, Singapore 120109
Contact: 6779 5309

Scent Discovery
221 Balestier Rd, Singapore 329928
Contact: 6256 5288

Songbitz
Holland Road Shopping Centre #03-03, 211 Holland Avenue, Singapore 278967
Contact: 64661229 (Wenna Song)

The Pet Doctors
3 Pandan Valley, Pandan Valley Condominium, 1-311 Chempaka Blk, Singapore 597627
Contact: 6438 7779

Town Vets Animal Clinic
22 Havelock Road #01-687, Singapore 160022
Contact: 6276 7026

Whiteclip
Red Dot Traffic Building, 28 Maxwell Road, Unit 03-11, Singapore 069120
Contact: 90477225 (by appointment only)

Yvonne's Creative Bridal & Photo Studio
75 Tanjong Pagar Road, Singapore 088496
Contact: 6327 8331 / 6227 8830

Last but not least, if you know of any shops, offices, vets, cafes or any others that would help sell our calendars, please do let us know too! That would be awesome!

Thank you from HOPE Dog Rescue.

A Fairy Tale Christmas

Imagine dying before he ever lived.

From the first time I laid eyes on Harry, I knew he was a special dog; strong, silent, patient, brave and fiercely loyal. He was a gentle giant. While it's almost impossible to find the right words to accurately describe the abuse and suffering Harry went through, going for weeks without food, tied to a heavy metal chain and going through the pain of cancer cells growing in his body, he took everything in his stride and accepted all that life had dealt him. Harry never gave up hope, believing that one day he would be saved. Inner strength is strengthened when we face our truths... when we acknowledge our circumstances... and despite our grim reality, we choose to keep going because within each of us, lies strength. Within strength, lies hope. Within hope, lies the power to go on.

Harry at the factory where he lived for years.

I don't know if Harry ever dreamt of a real life in a home, filled with an abundance of love and food, but I am sure all that he ever hoped for was regular meals and to be unleashed from his misery. Fate intervened and Harry had more than he could even dream of!

When our paths first crossed, I knew in my heart that my life would change, so would Harry's. Harry taught me many things, but mostly, to always have hope no matter how hard life seemed and Harry reminded me of my journey in life, to help and to give hope to the furry ones that I feel so passionately for. As an animal rescuer, albeit voluntary, I often feel for the dogs I rescue and I take full responsibility for their well-being. There are times where I feel helpless and don’t feel strong, when contributions are few; sometimes we can't find a temporary foster or our “adopt a dog” plea goes unheard, especially if they are old dogs or local cross breeds and this problem seems heightened especially when we have more than one dog in our charge. Often, at any one time, we have at least two to four dogs in foster care and the stress builds up, especially when we have to manage all this on top of holding full time jobs.

This is how gorgeous Harry looks now.

Each dog we rescue is a gift. Harry had nothing in his life yet he trudged on, believing that his fate would one day change and change it did. Over the years in animal rescue, I have never dared hope for too much for the rescued dogs and have always prided myself on being realistic and practical when it comes to making decisions on their behalf. If we could save them, cure and feed them, that was more than any street dog could ask for. This doesn’t mean we don’t help them wholeheartedly. Every dog that crosses our paths, we give them our all.

Imagine having the power to make a dog smile.

We always do our best within our limitations and after they have recuperated, we release them back to the streets. Not all street dogs can be rehomed; most treasure their freedom on the streets and we continue to care for them by feeding them, monitoring their health, taking them to the vets if need be, and also applying Frontline on them. All this would not be possible if not for the kind hearted animal lovers who faithfully support the work we do. We would never be able to help an iota of the dogs we have helped, if not for all the friends who have been there for us since HOPE started in July 2011.

Knowing Harry evoked a lot of feelings in me, simply because I love him as a person, for his silent strength and courage. In the earlier days, it saddened me tremendously when the Drs had given him only a week or two to live and advised us to put him down. All we ever wanted for Harry was to wipe away the pain in his heart.

We were planning to return Harry to his factory and had worked out shifts with various volunteers to check on him and feed him daily but fortunately that never materialized. Hailey, my savior, had been reading and following Harry’s story since his initial rescue and feeling so much for him, offered to foster him. FOSTER – that word rang sweetly in my ears. Over the months that Hailey had cared for Harry, as a foster, she never once believed that he would leave us any time soon. It has been 4 months and Harry is still very much alive although his lungs are filling with fluids and he is coughing a lot more. He pants and has difficulty breathing. He spends his days sleeping in the rooms or lazing in the hall, soaking in the love that the family has for him. Hailey and Bryan faithfully take Harry to all his vet appointments and have helped us by sponsoring his vet bills, which don’t come cheap as Harry has chemo jabs as well.

Having sunshine in his life

Harry's story gives us hope that no matter how low our lives are, we don't give up; that if a dog who has had death knock on his door a few times can find love and a family, then we must persist, for the sake of all the other dogs out there who continue to have that glimmer of hope, waiting for us to give them a better life.

Words could never express how grateful we are to Hailey and Bryan who openly welcomed Harry into their lives and loved him wholeheartedly. It is dogs like Harry that make our hard work all worthwhile and for the remaining time that Harry has on earth, he is gifted with a little piece of Heaven.

Let us give hope and joy to all the abandoned unloved pets and street dogs that long for a warm meal, some love and a shelter from the storm, not just at Christmas time but every time; if only everyone could just give a little of themselves . . . .

Harry has been adopted by Hailey and Bryan!!

The team at HOPE wishes one and all a Happy Christmas and a Merry New Year. May we continue with the spirit of giving. Love from Fiona.

The article below is contributed by Hailey and Bryan, Harry's Mommy and Daddy.

21 August 2011 …. Someone special entered my husband's & my life.

It will be 4 months since Harry became part of our family, which includes 3 of our companions Snoopy, Rascal and Angel. Recently, we added a kitty, Abby.

Harry and his new sibling, Abby

Looking at Harry today, it is so easy to forget that for many years, he had never felt warmth and love or had a home. He spent his life chained outside a factory, subject to the elements of nature. It was a life of survival, not just with the elements, but probably from other dogs and perhaps cruel jibes from humans. He ate as and when he could find food, discards mainly, and drank whatever water that was available along the way, slept in the sweltering heat or cold of the night. Alone. Dirty. Hungry. Sick.

That he survived for so long on his own is testimony of his tenacity and his unwavering will to survive.

Harry was weak and frail when he first came into our lives. His coat barely covered his bones. He now eats 3 hearty meals a day. His favourite …. small little animal shaped cookies. He has since put on some weight. He is so good looking now.

Harry enjoys walking around the Christmas tree!

Harry’s favourite snoozing place is our room. He sleeps most of the time, perhaps to make up for lost time. And oh yes… he loves going to our small garden to stick his head into the foliage. For some reason, Snoopy, Rascal, Angel and Abby would leave Harry in peace. Perhaps, they are all more compassionate, sensitive and knowing than us. Perhaps they know that Harry just needs a little more time to come out of his shell. For now, they understand he just needs rest, sustenance and love.

Harry's very first Christmas

Harry is sweet and gentle. He demands little. We have his trust now. It is a special relationship between Harry and us. It is a joy every day for us to see Harry live another day. For Harry, he has finally found a home that is filled with love, cuddles, hugs and pats. Where he won't have to worry about having nothing to eat or drink or a warm place to sleep.

Hailey and darling Harry

Harry has gotten his 4th chemo jab in October and it seems he may no longer need more. We do not know how long he could be with us … It’s too little too late we are told. But like Harry, we harbour the hope that it isn't.

Harry is happy now and for us, each day, with him in our lives, is a blessing.

Photographs courtesy of Leslie Kok and Hailey Mak.

Just When Harry Finds True Love

Behind each pair of eyes, lies a story of abuse, neglect or simply, an unfortunate circumstance.

Despite his poor health, Harry still has hope in his eyes; a real fighter, he is.

What if you live your entire life without ever being special? What if you lived for over ten long years with one simple wish; to be loved - and it never ever happened? Imagine waiting every single day to be part of someone's life; anyone's - but you never had that chance? There you are, waiting... just waiting and waiting...  no one ever stops by, not even to say hi, not even a pat on your head.

Welcome to Harry’s life. The only world he has ever known. Imagine how Harry felt... simply waiting to die, before he had even lived.

This was Harry’s reality, his truth. Abuse, torture, neglect, cruelty.

You can never imagine the life Harry has lived. Imagine what it’s like to slowly starve to death... to have no one to care about your suffering. Imagine living your life on a leash, never free to roam, chained to a destiny that you could not rewrite. Imagine the loneliness and sadness of living his entire life under a lorry; no one noticing him gone if he were to cease existing.

Imagine Harry’s unbelievable fear and pain, the heart-breaking knowledge that his life mattered so little and death was his goal.

I left as co-founder of an animal welfare group some two months back and was intending to take a back seat from animal welfare, mainly tired from working with humans, as well as exhaustion from the years of animal rescue. Then came Harry; he needed help. Turning down an animal in need is something I find hard to do and so I dragged myself back into animal welfare and started a blog called HOPE Dog Rescue to share Harry’s story. Harry was the first dog rescued under Hope, and Harry turned my life back round, reminding me of my journey in life.

Harry had been waiting for years for someone to help him.

Harry means so much to me

 From the moment we set eyes on him, we have done our best for him. We provided food, medical aid, Reiki healing; taken him for car rides and walks, bathed him as he had requested and even took him to the beach. Many volunteers and generous animal lovers were involved in Harry’s life and I am indeed thankful for their kindness, for helping to build his faith in mankind again. I am thankful to Hailey and Bryan who have been fostering Harry for the past 3 weeks and loving Harry as part of their family.

Last Thursday evening, we rushed Harry to the vet as he was panting for no reason and his breathing was extremely laboured. He didn’t want to go for his usual walks; neither did he have a good appetite. Mul and I took him to the vet while four other concerned volunteers met us at the clinic. X-rays were done and Dr Ang told us to be prepared for the worst. His blood count had dropped slightly, his ears and paws were cold from poor blood circulation and his gums were pale as well. Harry’s heart was beating irregularly; his lungs were filling with water, making him feel as if he was drowning, hence the laboured breathing. She said there could be a few days or a few weeks left for Harry; she couldn’t gauge but he wasn’t doing well at all. Tears welled in my eyes and I could only pray for a miracle.

We conveyed this to Hailey, who then asked us to make an appointment for Harry to seek a second opinion and she would pick up the tab for this.

Harry saw Dr Anthony Goh on Saturday evening and the conclusion was the same; Harry’s heart is not good and he is likened to a walking time bomb. A normal doggy's heart beats at 60-160 beats per min while Harry's heart is beating at 200 beats per minute! He has been given medication to slow his heartbeat, in the hope that he will feel a little more comfortable and he needs to go to the vet every 4 to 5 days for checks and ECGs.

Dr Anthony Goh listening to Harry's heart "beating ridiculously fast"

Harry undergoing a blood pressure test, amplifying the blood flow

Harry on the x-ray table 

He is such a darling that when you leave him on the x-ray table,

he stays till you tell him he can go down

Measuring Harry's blood pressure

Harry undergoing an ECG - his heart beat fluctuates between 

irregularity and beating too quickly

Harry longing for plants and Mother Nature again. Perhaps he also likes the feel of the plants on his back, as if someone is patting and caressing him, something he longs for.

Harry has lost a lot of weight

Dr Anthony Goh checking on Harry

Harry truly loves the company of people. 

Despite the tests and jabs, he still goes on smiling

Over this past 3 weeks that Hailey and Bryan have fostered Harry, Harry has grown extremely attached to Hailey. He spends his days lazing by her side and goes for walks with her. He is contented just being by her side and the family dogs have accepted him as well.

What pains and saddens me most is just when Harry has finally found love, a home and true happiness, his joy may be short-lived. Why can’t he have a few more weeks or months of happiness? To experience the love and family he never ever had? I know life is never fair, but for Harry - it seems so much worse; just when he found happiness.

I know I have altered Harry’s life, although I wish there was more that could be done for him.

We are indeed glad that Harry finally has the chance to experience real love – a love he longed for and deserved all his life; a family to call his very own. HOPE Dog Rescue would like to thank you for supporting and joining us in this journey of Hope. We will indeed keep bringing light and hope to more dogs just like Harry, who are still living in their lonely worlds of pain and suffering – but we can’t do it alone. Please help us to help them.

If you would like to contribute to Harry’s vet bills or to our on-going animal rescue missions, please contact us at pops_snaps@singnet.com.sg . Any amount of help would be greatly appreciated – and Hope would be brought to other deserving animals so that they may live life knowing that someone did care.

Written by Fiona

Below is Hailey and Bryan’s contribution about Harry:

It was Fiona's words and Harry's pictures that moved me to help Harry. I have been feeding strays in my neighbourhood whenever I could, but they are usually in a pack and are always happily playing and running together. Harry was different; he was alone with no human or canine companions.

Perhaps it was fate that I chanced upon Hope's blog and learnt of Harry's plight. I felt so sorry for him and really wanted to bring him home. I hesitated at first, as I already have my own dogs and was afraid that I might not be able to handle having Harry as well. But with my husband Bryan's support, I contacted Hope.

On the first day that Harry arrived, he was wary of his new surroundings and all the new faces. He kept scratching at the gate and wanting to leave. But it has been a few weeks here, and he is definitely feeling more at home. He has not been near the gate at all, except when it's time for his walks, or when Bryan comes home and Harry will greet him with a wagging tail.

During breakfast and dinner, he usually finishes all the healthy dog food we give him - yippee! Earlier this evening when he woke up from his nap, he even sniffed the air as his food was being prepared, and followed the aroma into the kitchen. This is the first time it's happened; usually he would lie in the same spot and let his food be brought to him.

When my sister and her kids came to visit, it made Harry very happy and he kept wagging his tail. He really does love the company of humans. Today he did not sniff the plants like he usually does, but instead sniffed the things around the house. His limbs are pretty weak, and it is not easy for him to get up from his sleeping position. His nose is still running, although not all the time any more. He is definitely more courageous though, and will even walk to the bedroom by himself to sleep. Even now as I'm writing, Harry is fast asleep in the bedroom...

In fact, he usually spends his days sleeping, and is free to roam around the house. The other dogs in my house have accepted him and don't bother him at all, especially since Harry is so sweet-natured and mild-mannered. He really is a gentle giant. I really hope that Harry can put his sad past behind him, open up and feel the love and care that we and the volunteers are giving him. I hope that he can have the will to live to a ripe old age. He deserves a good life from now on, and we have promised him that he will no longer be alone, ever again.

To read all the stories written about Harry ever since his rescue, please click here.

Photo Credits: Lisa and Mul

HOPE for Harry

Mul and I have been visiting Harry, to ensure that he is happy and well. It’s been three days at his foster home and Harry seems to have settled in slightly, no longer sticking his nose at the main gate or trying to claw it open. In fact, he actually went into the living room while we were there, beckoning us to go in and sit with him.

Harry at his foster home

For years, Harry lived his life in a fight or flight mode and I don’t think he ever known love in his life. To witness the effects of love and care on a formerly uncared for dog has been a great joy for our volunteers. He actually wags his tail when he sees us and he goes to his foster, Hailey, when he feels he has had enough pats from us!

 Mul gave Harry some Reiki while we were chatting with Hailey and Hailey observed that Harry loves putting his face into her plants – which was the same observation our volunteers had when they took Harry to the vet. For years, he had missed and longed for this. His sadness seems to be lifting and there is a little more life in his eyes. He now spends his days catching up on lost sleep.

Harry communicated to Mul, an animal communicator, that he is still very tired and sleepy, his head heavy from the years of not having a good night’s sleep. He has taken a liking for his foster, Hailey, and likes the family dogs too. He does like his foster home and doesn’t miss his factory. Most of all, Harry LOVES his walks. He loves the sun on his back and watching the trees sway in the wind. He does feel some slight pain in his stomach and his hind legs are a little arthritic, which upsets him because he can’t seem to be able to do the things he used to do.

I used to feel sad to think that Harry had lived all of his life without a human to appreciate his value. Today, I am thankful to Hailey for loving Harry and giving him the love he has longed for all his life. He deserves no less.

Written by Fiona

Harry Smiles A Little

After a night's rest at the vet's office, brave Harry was discharged on Sunday. As promised, volunteers came to bring him to East Coast Park to play on the beach and swim. Harry loved the sand, but didn't know what to do or how to play in it as he had never been to the beach before. He didn't roll around like other dogs love to, but he enjoyed himself on the sand nonetheless, and was even curious enough to venture into the water. He was so brave wallowing in the water, and only jumped a little when a big wave came. He seemed to love the sea, and enjoyed just standing still in the shallows and letting the waves wash around his body

Harry's first ever experience walking on sand

When it was time to eat, Harry enjoyed some yummy char siew rice during the picnic lunch with the volunteers. However, he didn't seem to be able to relax and was always on the alert. Volunteers had to carry and coax Harry into lying on the picnic mat to rest, and all the while someone had to hold him to let him know and assure him that he was safe. But as soon as there was a car zooming by, or a car door slamming shut, poor Harry would once again jump to his feet in panic.

Harry enjoying his very first picnic by the sea

After all the excitement, Harry had his favourite char siew rice on the picnic mat

Taking a stroll on his own, enjoying the freedom and experiencing many firsts

A face of contentment you say? Actually it was too glaring!
After going to the beach, Harry was brought to his new foster home, where he will stay for one week. Volunteers gave him his bath and were ready to say goodbye. It would take a while for Harry to get used to his new environment and to open up, but our volunteers will be going to visit him every night to assure him that we're still here for him and he hasn't been forgotten. Through animal communication, we found out that Harry really enjoyed his day out in the sun, though he didn't swim and only felt the water at his feet. He knows that he is now in a safe place at the foster home, but does still feel a little apprehensive as it is all so new for him. After all, it is the first time he has ever had a real home!

In a week (on 28 Aug), Harry will be going for his next chemotherapeutic jab. The weekly injections seem to be working and swelling in his groin area has subsided. The only setback of this injection is that it causes lost of appetite and weight loss. We are grateful to Hailey and Bryan for opening their hearts and home to Harry, and we hope Harry enjoys his time with them. Also, we would like to thank everyone for being there for Harry; we wouldn't have been able to help him if not for you. Thank you for making a difference in Harry's life! To read about Harry's journey, please click here. Written by Elena Lin

Harry - He's Simply Amazing!

Harry had his surgery on Saturday morning, to extract his canine (tooth). When I visited him at 2pm, he was still a little drowsy from being under GA but he wagged his tail hard in the cage and wanted to come out. I then took him out for a walk and for the next two hours, Harry had a steady stream of visitors. Even Kenneth, Harry’s care-giver, came to see if he was alright.

The extracted tooth

Fussing over Harry and fitting on his collar

Friends and our blog readers came to meet Harry. He was a good host and brought all his visitors round the block many times!  Despite being hot, tired and in slight pain, he wanted to keep walking and he enjoyed the outdoors.

Ai Wei, Delphine and Lisa cleaning Harry's ears

Volunteers had promised Harry that if he survived the surgery, they would take him to the beach for a walk – so when Harry is discharged this morning, he will be heading straight to the beach, for the first time in his life!

Harry having a meeting with his fans.

Cindy and Hailey giving Harry lots of pats!

After the beach, Harry will be going to a foster home where he will receive lots of TLC and recover. He needs to put on quite a bit of weight. He is now clear of hookworms!

When he has fully recovered, Harry will resume his weekly chemotherapeutic drugs.

We will continue to give updates on Harry and would like to thank everyone who has contributed to making the world a better place for Harry. Thank You!

Harry - Our Hero

______________________________________________________________

When I learnt about Harry and how he had been chained up for years, I thought to myself that it was no way for an elderly dog like him to live. When I'm old, I want to be out on a balcony soaking up the sun, surrounded by loved ones. Poor Harry had no one to love, and no one to love him. He spent his days alone, lying under a lorry on the sixth floor of a factory building. Then I found out he had all sorts of illnesses as well - heart murmur, water in his lungs, bad legs, and even cancer. Anyone dealing with so much pain needs some serious loving in their life to make things better. When Fiona told us we could visit poor Harry after his dental surgery, I just had to go down to show him some love.


Elena walking Harry

Harry was sitting outside the vet's office on the grass when I arrived. He had several volunteers looking after him, cleaning him, and patting him. I could tell he was glad that he was being showered with attention, but he was also quiet and reserved. It seemed like he had suffered too much in his life to know how to truly be happy. The volunteers took turns taking him for walks, and although his legs aren't too good, he was so excited to be out on the grass that he just kept going and going non-stop for a good 2 hours! He loves bushes, and would keep going in and out of them. He is such a curious dog.



One thing that struck me was that Harry never once wagged his tail, and there was no spark in his eyes. It seemed to me like he was really happy to be out, surrounded by people who cared for him, but yet he didn't dare to enjoy himself too much. No matter how many pats or how many walks he got, we couldn't elicit a single tail wag or a joyful bark out of him. It was as if he couldn't trust that this would last, and that he would soon have to once again return to a life of loneliness living under a lorry.

Poor Harry deserves someone to love him forever, to take care of him for the rest of his life. He shouldn't be living out his last days alone, hiding in a factory. He needs to know that there's someone who will always be there to care for him. I hope that one day soon, he will be able to find someone who can take away the pain in his eyes and give him the hope and happiness that he never had. 

The above was written by Elena Lin, a young student volunteer who has been a volunteer in animal welfare for some years, mainly helping with computer related work. Harry moved her so much that she had to make a trip down to visit him today, her very first time visiting a rescued dog.

Harry – Life Just Keeps Getting Tougher

A few volunteers visited Harry on Wednesday night, bringing with us his favourite food - roast duck and fried chicken. Ever since Harry started on his weekly chemotherapeutic injections two weeks ago, we had decided to visit him a few times throughout the week to check if he was alright, to let him know we care a great deal for him and that he wasn’t alone in this journey.


When we arrived at his factory, there was no sign of Harry. I walked around and called out but he didn’t come stumbling out like he usually did. I asked a few workers if they had seen “the dog” and finally one worker told me Harry was lying inside his factory and has not been eating. He pointed to where Harry lay.


I went into the workshop and Harry didn’t get up to greet me; he just lay, listless, tail not even wagging. I sensed that he wasn’t feeling too well and knelt beside him to stroke his head. I offered him his favourite roast duck but he was totally uninterested in it. He did however have two fried chicken wings, before turning his head away. The workers were hovering around, watching this crazy lady care so much for a stray dog. Over the years, I have gotten used to these stares and if I start talking to the dogs, they usually will leave me alone!


These workers have seen a lot of me and the volunteers these past few weeks and seem nicer towards Harry, allowing him to wander into their workshops to rest.

Harry lying listless in the workshop

I sat with Harry for a while, stroked and talked to him. I told him we would take him to the beach this Sunday and that we were looking forward to spending time with him again. His eyes looked up at me and I knew he understood what I had just told him. We then had to leave to go to the industrial estates to feed the 50+ strays who were waiting for us to deliver their meals. This was the fateful night that one of our dogs, Tang Tang, was savagely beaten to death.


Today I received a call from Kenneth, the person who first informed us of Harry’s plight. Kenneth informed me that Harry seemed to be sleeping a lot these past 2 days but in the afternoon, he had found Harry on the ground floor of the building, instead of the usual 6th floor, where he lived. He mentioned that Harry seemed tired and unable to walk up to the 6th floor, so Kenneth took him back up in the lift. Kenneth also mentioned that Harry had left his food untouched for the past two days and was worried that Harry wasn’t feeling too good.


I called Dr Ang to seek her advice on Harry’s condition and she advised me to bring him to the clinic to put him on a drip immediately as he may suffer a loss of appetite and weight loss because of his chemotherapeutic injections, so we headed down to Harry’s factory after work.


Harry was again inside the same workshop.


I knelt beside him and told him that I was there to take him to the vet and he would feel better after that. As I stroked his head, I noticed that he had a tear on his right ear with the blood stains almost drying up. It looked like it was torn in a dog fight. As I was checking his ear, I saw that there were cuts on his nose and the right side of his mouth was terribly swollen. I opened his mouth to check and my hands were stained with blood, although I couldn’t see any open wounds in his mouth. With Kenneth’s help, we put Harry in a pet carrier and carried it to the car. As we walked to the car, Kenneth mentioned that he had seen Harry walking on the road earlier on in the day, and he suspected a female dog was on heat. That made sense because Harry hardly ever left his 6th floor workshop and the tear on his ear had indicated that he might have been involved in a dog fight. We drove around looking for the female dog, to see if she too was injured. We found her in the next lane, guarded by a young male dog, perhaps 2 to 3 years of age. Harry and the male dog may have fought for the female dog and Harry would obviously have lost the fight.

I felt sorry for the female dog. She was sitting in the middle of the road, exhausted from running from the males. Her eyes pleaded for help but as I went closer, the male dog that was guarding her, growled and warned me not to go any nearer. I had no choice but to leave some food for the both of them and left.

An extremely exhausted female dog (black) rests in the middle of the road, 

with a male dog guarding her

Harry was extremely happy to go to the vet and walked really quickly to the main entrance. We took his weight and found out he had lost more weight. Carey, the vet tech, cleaned Harry’s wound while we waited for Dr Ang to see us. Dr Ang checked Harry’s ear and said that it could be left to heal on its own and didn’t need to be stitched up. 

Poor Harry has lost a lot of weight

Cleaning his wound

Tear in Harry's ear

Dr Ang then checked his mouth / gums and found a cut on his gums. In the midst of the dog fight, his canine (tooth) had also been pushed out causing his gums to bleed. Dr Ang mentioned that this would have really hurt Harry, and perhaps this was the reason why he had not been eating. It was simply too painful to eat. Saline was used to flush his mouth and rinse away the blood.

Harry's canine needs to be removed

Flushing his mouth with saline

An extremely swollen mouth

Look at the angle that his tooth juts out!

Dr Ang said that Harry needed a surgery the following day, to extract the tooth before infection sets in. If the tooth is not removed, Harry would be in pain and not eat anyway, so there was no escaping the surgery.


Although a rather simple procedure to extract the tooth, given Harry’s poor health, old age, heart murmur and water in his lungs, this surgery becomes an extreme high risk for Harry and there is a high possibility that he may not survive the procedure.

A painkiller jab to help him get through the night

We left the clinic with a heavy heart, worried about poor old Harry and our cumulating vet bills.

Harry has had such a hard, sad life. One setback after another. I wish I could take away all his pain, suffering and sadness and make him the happiest dog on earth.


Should you wish to visit Harry at the vet, bring him food or help contribute to his vet bills, you may visit him only on Saturday (20 August) between 2pm to 4pm. Please SMS / call me (9839 1308) before heading down to the vet.


We know Harry is scared and in pain. We have told him to be strong and brave, like he has always been. We will be here for him and he must pull through. There is lots for him to look forward to once he survives this surgery.


Stay tuned to our blog for more updates on Harry.

Special thanks to Mandy for being Harry's personal pet transporter.


Written by Fiona