Gone Too Soon (Farewell Bentley)

As our nation celebrates National Day, our team mourns the loss of our gentle giant Bentley. Still a baby, he was a rescued street dog who passed away from acute kidney failure at just 2 years old.

A private ceremony was held for him this afternoon, attended by many of our volunteers who were touched by his genteel nature and babyish behaviour. He was possibly amongst one of the sweetest street dogs we had ever rescued.

It was likely Bentley had died from poisoning. We can only speculate that he may have accidentally ingested rat bait, which contains warfarin, which caused his death. Rat bait is used to poison rats, causing them to bleed to death. A very slow and painful way to go. We can only theorize this because last night just before he passed on, he vomited blood and in the next instance, blood flowed out from his nostrils and the blood did not clot at all, which is common in rat poisoning. Even today during his cremation, blood still oozed from his mouth and nose. . . . .

We decided to share this with all pet owners to please be alert when walking your dogs. Pay attention to what they sniff or eat during their walks. Don’t text, don’t use your mobile phone. Focus your attention on your dogs. We blame no one. It was an accident and obviously no one would have wanted this to happen. It may or may not have been the situation with Bentley but nevertheless we just wanted to warn all pet owners to be careful.

Farewell Bentley. We are sorry we could not save you but you did not die in vain. Your death has taught us a tough lesson which we share and learn from.

We miss you dearly. 

Updates on Bentley

Bentley is not doing well at all. We are saddened by his condition, deteriorating faster than we can rectify.

When he was first rescued aft being attacked by a pack of dogs

Recovering at the vet after his first injury

We had taken him to another vet for a second opinion. He has had x-rays done, blood tests and an ultrasound. He suffers from acute kidney failure. Both his kidneys are enlarged and his body temperature dangerously low. Volunteers have been taking time off to visit and spend time with him, as well as bringing large thick blankets to cover him and keep him warm.

He is not peeing enough and that is also a concern for the vets, which means that his kidneys are no longer functioning well. His kidney readings are 10 times past the normal range!

Waiting to see the vet yesterday after transfer

He has been salivating and the previous vet had thought that he was nauseous from all the toxins in him, but when the vet checked again, his mouth was full of terribly bad ulcers. They were so huge, spread all over his gums that is was no wonder he was salivating blood and could not eat. We feel so sorry for him.

Salivating blood from huge ulcers in his mouth

A volunteer fetched Bentley’s worker, Andy, down yesterday evening to visit him and Bentley could only lift his head for a few seconds to acknowledge the worker’s presence and lay down again.

Ulcers and pus on his gums

The vet has cautioned us that he may go into seizures any time as that is common in severe kidney failure. As it is, he has some signs of head bobbing.

We have not stopped blaming ourselves for taking 4 days before sending him to the vet. He had vomited a few times throughout the day and stopped eating 2 days before we took him to the vet, but little did we know it was so serious and that he had kidney issues. We thought it was perhaps a food allergy. We were then told that his condition is not reversible. It is reversible in minor kidney failure but in serious cases like Bentley’s, there is no second chance.

All his symptoms point to acute kidney failure from toxic poisoning. We have been cracking our heads thinking of all the things that he could have eaten and we can only speculate that he might have accidentally licked rat pee during his walks. Other than that, there was nothing toxic that he would have access to as his foster took good care of him and Bentley was such a good boy, he never stole food from the table even though he is so tall and could easily help himself.

Worker, Andy, visiting Bentley

He has had such a sad life, barely 2 years old – from having been attacked by a pack of dogs and having almost ripped off his ears to being very close to death now. Sadly, his adoption poster had just been made and Bentley was on his was to being put up for adoption and finding a family that would love him the way we do.

Now all that is gone . . .we can only hope and pray that doggie angels will help him either pull through or take him away from his misery and suffering soon.

If you can help with Bentley’s vet bills, please email hopedogrescue@singnet.com.sg

Dawn. A New Beginning?

I first met her in 2009, she was a feisty one. Fiercely guarding her factory and loyal to the workers that fed her. She was a factory dog and she lived in one of the industrial areas that I frequented to feed sterilize. 

Taken in the factory in 2010, a few days after a car hit her and ripped off her lower limb (right hind)

Taken at the vet in 2010 before her leg amputation and sterilization

In 2010 she was hit by a car and her leg was torn off, the remaining stump left to rot. I saw her one evening while catching strays for sterilization and fortunately found a worker to help us catch her. We took her to the vet, where her right hind leg was amputated and she was also sterilized during the surgery. She was rather fiesty then, and must have been about 3 or 4 years old.

After her hind leg amputation and sterilization (2010)

She was returned to the factory where we then started supplying food on a weekly basis to the workers and our volunteers visited her and the other dogs every Saturday during our feeding sessions, checking on them.  All these past 4 years, things remained fine until that fateful day last week where someone must have been displeased with her barking and called in the authorities to have her taken away.

Taken at the factory in late 2013 where Dawn's skin suddenly became really bad

As Dawn’s factory had been vacated and all her caregivers / workers had left, no one knew she had been taken away, save for a lady working at the factory next door (where we also supply food on a monthly basis) had seen uniformed men trap and take Dawn away and quickly informed us. We went down to AVA the following day to check if she was there and to bail her out, even though we had nowhere to house her and no plans for her, but how could we just sit back and do nothing, knowing her life would be snuffed out in a couple of days.

We contacted Mohan from Animal Lovers League, who kindly took time out from his busy schedule to go down to AVA together with us, to bail Dawn out.

Leaving AVA to go vet for a full medical

After we bailed her out, we took her to the vet for a full medical and to board her there temporarily while we think of her future.

At the vet, fortunately she peed and we noticed she peed blood! Poor Dawn. Who knows how long this has been going on for. Such is the sad life of a stray, no one knows when they are sick, hurt or even gone . . . .

It’s sad that with modernization, people have become less tolerant of many things. If only they learnt to live in harmony, to live and let live, then Dawn would still have a home, albeit in a vacated factory, but at least she would have a home, her friends and to continue living peacefully in a place where she grew up in.

Now comes the dilemma of where Dawn goes.

She is at the vet, ready to be discharged any time, but where can she go? Dogs that are bailed out from AVA cannot be released back on the streets. The deal is that they would need to be licensed and rehomed. Rehoming could mean a factory, a condominium or a landed property, as Dawn is not small enough for HDB living. To a boarding kennel? She would be in major depression, from having the streets as her playground and freedom, to being imprisoned in a strange, scary environment.

Foster home? To start with, we don’t have ready fosters and we still have dogs in commercial boarding. Besides, Dawn isn’t exactly the friendliest, sweetest, most affectionate dog you’ll meet. She is feisty, although fiercely loyal, or how else would she have survived with 3 legs on the streets for 7 to 8 years? What she needs is a patient foster / adopter to house her and to give her lots of time and space to slowly learn to trust humans. Sounds simple but in reality, that seems like asking for the impossible.

Taken at the vet where she is presently warded (July 2014)

And so when we bailed her out from death row without a second thought, thinking that it would be a new beginning for Dawn, were we just kidding ourselves and giving Dawn false hopes?

To adopt / foster Dawn, please email hopedogrescue@singnet.com.sg In the meantime, her future is bleak.

Kate’s Updates

What did your dog have when he was 5 years old? Love? Toys? Food? A family? For most, your dog was probably the center of your life, showered with love, food and perhaps the best that you can afford. As for our little furry friend, Kate, she was not so lucky. She grew up on the streets but was blessed to be found by Ailing, who then started feeding her every evening 3 years back and sterilized her so she would not be constantly giving birth to more homeless puppies. Sadly, Kate was hit by a fast moving vehicle on high impact, and dragged a short distance. Her right eye popped out of the socket and had to be removed during surgery, her jaw was fractured and she had multiple abrasions under her body.

Kate before her accident (pic from feeder, Ailing)

When Ailing went to feed her and realized she was missing, she asked around and was told that Kate had been taken by HOPE to the vet as she was badly hurt in an accident. Ailing then contacted us to find out more and to visit Kate at the vet. Ailing told us how sweet Kate is and that Kate is the only one among her pack to survive as she described the horrible traps that were set for Kate’s partner and daughter. Kate survived only because the workers shooed her away, but for her family, they weren’t as fortunate . . . . .

It's been 5 days after her surgery but Kate is still disorientated as she tries to cope with the loss of an eye, and will be at the vet for another 7 to 10 days before she feels well enough to be discharged. She can no longer live on the streets as her vision is impacted and it would pose more danger to her life. The other option is that she spends the rest of days living in a kennel and that really isn't a life, from freedom to being confined within 4 walls.

Ailing (feeder) visiting Kate at the vet

Face still swollen from the accident

Will any kind soul foster or adopt Kate? She is estimated to be about 4 to 5 years old, very sweet and mild tempered. She has been through hell and back, all she needs is love for her to recover, accept and learn to live with her disability. She is sterilized and healthy, although she isn't small enough for HDB living.

Thank you everyone who have helped with her vet bills, let's hope she doesn't need to undergo a jaw surgery. We will continue to provide updates on our Facebook page when there are changes to her condition.

If you can adopt / foster Kate, please email us at hopedogrescue@singnet.com.sg 

Written by Ryan Chee

Shell Shocked

I have been volunteering for HOPE for a couple of months now. When I was asked to standby at the vet to check in for a new rescue, I didn’t think much of it. Kate was being transferred from the A&E.  After all, I have handled a couple of cases by now, but no amount of maggot wounds could prepare me for the scene I witnessed.

Kate’s eyeball had popped out and was dangling from her eye socket. There was blood everywhere; on her e-collar, in the carrier and blood continued to drip as I looked on. Our pet transport driver had to physically carry Kate into the clinic and she was in too much pain and shock to even move. She did not even struggle nor show any reactions. I stood shell shocked and could only hold the door open for him with my trembling hands.

The vet on duty examined her and said that her right eye could not be saved as it had been exposed for too long and was turning black. It would have to be removed during surgery and the socket stitched up.

X-rays were then carried out and it showed that Kate’s right jaw was fractured – this could have been caused by a high impact hit, so possibly a moving vehicle. However, they will not be operating on her jaw for now. Main priority would be to remove her right eyeball. As for her jaw fracture, they would put a muzzle on her to minimize her jaw movement and hope that her jaw would heal on its own in the next three days. If in three days’ time it does not heal, then she will require surgery to repair her fractured jaw. During her eye surgery, she will have a feeding tube inserted into her neck.

The x-ray also showed she has a misaligned vertebrae on his spine. This may or may not be caused by the accident. She could have been born that way but the vets will monitor this as well.

Her surgery will take place later today (Saturday) as she is still in shock. Her bill is estimated to be about $4500 for the eye surgery and one week’s stay. The jaw surgery is not included for now. We are hoping we can find a foster when she is discharged.

This is singularly the most traumatic and depressing moment I have experienced during my stint with Hope Dog Rescue. Can you imagine the pain and stress she is experiencing? I tried to put myself in her shoes. An eyeball dangling out of my eye socket with my face smashed and still trying to escape from

a bunch of well-meaning but scary humans for more than an hour while they tried to catch me and take me to the vet. When I was finally caught, I had to endure a long and rocky ride in pain.

This incident made me realise the importance of the role we play, even just as volunteers. However, we have our constraints too. Mounting bills incurred at the vet means we can no longer afford to rescue any more dogs. And no fostering / adoption also means no space to save more dogs.

But how can we say NO to Kate? When we saw her picture sent in by these two people who saw her,  our resolves melted. 

On behalf of our furry friends, we thank you for your help.

To help Kate, please email hopedogrescue@singnet.com.sg

Written by volunteer, Wendy Yeo

Dogs At The Vet

We may not always highlight or share the work we do because often we just have too many cases on hand and too little time to write about every case but what we do is almost round the clock, rescuing, sterilization, answering to calls for help etc.

Recently we have 6 dogs at the vet, for various reasons.

ASHLAN & MISHKA , the two little puppies with maggot wounds, rescued when they were just 6 weeks old. They are now about 2 months old, having stayed at the vet for the past 2 weeks. Their wounds have now healed and we are hoping that angels would come forth to adopt them, to save them from having to go back to living in the worksite.

Ashlan & Mishka. Look how tiny they are, all of 8 weeks.

Ashlan & Mishka for adoption (both males, 8 weeks old, healthy)

KOPI – a dog we feed and sterilized, from the industrial estates. A worker called to inform us that Kopi had not been eating for 2 days and that he was limping. Our volunteers went down after work to check on him and noticed many puncture wounds on both his hind legs. The wounds had pus and was badly infected. He was immediately taken to the vet where he underwent GA to flush out the pus. He is now warded at the vet till he is in a stable condition. He is still susceptible to septicemia and is under observation. Kopi is a young, tall, handsome lad with mesmerizing eyes. He is sweet and shy. He will be returned to the factory when he recovers and HOPE will continue to provide him and his furry friends with food on a weekly basis.

Kopi, puncture holes on both his hind legs

Kopi's one handsome lad

POLKA DOT & BLACK GIRL – two female factory dogs that we sterilized 2 weeks back. Usually after every sterilization, our volunteers will check on the dogs a few days later to ensure their wounds are healing well and that the dogs are fine. So when our volunteers went to check on their wounds, we noticed both of their wounds were red, raw and infected. Black Girl’s wound was slightly open! Both female dogs were immediately taken to the vet to be warded for a few days as where they live is muddy and dusty and we didn’t want to risk further infection. They will be on a course of 2 weeks antibiotics and when their wounds are drier, they will be returned to the factory. We would love to keep them till their wounds healed completely but unfortunately with 6 dogs at the vet, finances are an issue.

Black Girl's sterilization wound was infected and slightly open

Polka Dot's wound was raw and infected as well 

Gorgeous Polka Dot at the vet

Polka Dot is very sweet and affectionate, she looks like a Pointer and is a very rare, good looking street dog. She is young, perhaps slightly more than a year old although looking at her body, you can tell she has given birth at least once or twice. She would make a lovely pet and if anyone would like to give her a home, we would be more than happy to give her a good scrub (she is rather oily from living under trucks) and a complete medical check.

Look at those eyes!

DAWN – The 3-legged dog that we recently bailed out from AVA. Dawn has been warded at the vet for a few reasons;

Dawn leaving AVA

1)      She was very traumatized after her experience of being caught and held at AVA’s pound. She has not stopped trembling in fear.

2)      While at the vet, we noticed she peed blood and is now being treated for that.

3)      She had nowhere to go. We have not found a foster for her and we didn’t want to put her at the kennels for fear of traumatizing her further.

Dawn, at the vet. She is estimated to be about 8 or 9 years old

Dawn peed blood while she was at the vet

We will be featuring Dawn’s story in our next blog post, but for now, we would like to appeal for help with our vet bills. Presently, we owe $6000 in vet bills and that’s a pretty hefty sum. The clinic has been very kind and gracious in allowing us credit but we need your help before this amount escalates to an even scarier figure. We thank you all for all that you have done for us and our rescues. We would not have been able to give so many dogs a second chance without your support and compassion.

Here’s what we need help with :

1)     Adopt Ashlan and / or Mishka (unlikely to be HDB approved)

2)     Adopt Polka Dot (not HDB approved)

3)    Foster / adopt Dawn (she is a little wary of people and will try to snap but given space and time, she is alright. She needs a patient foster to teach her to learn to trust humans again)

4)      Help with vet bills

Please email hopedogrescue@singnet.com.sg

Finding My Forever Home : Lulu’s Story

Sometimes, life leads you to the right decisions. I was missing having a dog in my house after my little JRT passed away at 16 years old. Life was easier but somehow it seemed something was missing in our small family of three. My friend A had recently adopted a beautiful cross breed pup, and then a few months later, an older dog with a great personality. I admired her magnanimity and  saw that her family really enjoyed having the dogs so much. At the same time, I was also looking around on the internet and had some dogs on short list. Lulu caught my eye because she was really pretty. What's more, the description of her personality as "a sweet and gentle disposition that endears her to anyone who meets her", "reserved and very well behaved", "undemanding" sounded perfect for me. Coincidentally, I then saw Lulu's picture on friend A's FB wall when she liked a post about Lulu by Hope Dog Rescue. I took that as a sign and made an enquiry. 

A few days later, volunteer, Lisa called to ask some questions and this was quickly followed by a house visit. Poor Lulu was so scared because there were 4 people from Hope, 3 from my family and 3 from next door (my sister's family) - we were all so excited to meet her. She spent the few hours with her tail between her legs, walking around nervously. 

The following week she came to stay. She was so easy to walk and followed me closely. She was not active, sleeping most of the day and her sad, soulful eyes held little spark. One morning, I woke up and she was not in the house and the patio door, open. Walking out, I smelt and saw poo everywhere. She had diarrhea and had somehow clawed open the aluminum patio door, jumped over the short gate and was stuck outside. There was poo on the patio and the little garden - but not a smudge of poo in the house or on her paws! She was really desperate not to dirty the inside of the house. What a considerate and clever dog.

For many weeks she basically kept to herself and minded her own business, only showing any interest when I came home with a shy wagging of tail (which was still mostly down).  The children were a little disappointed that they couldn't play with this dog - but this dog didn't know how to play. She was however very easy going with them, and put up with many hugs and squeezes. She was not much interested in food, and also wary of treats, so it was hard to coax her into doing anything. I reminded myself that she had lived on the streets her whole life.

After School Cuddles

Today after a year, she is quite different. She wags her tail excitedly to see us home, even my husband - whom she ignored for months! She greets the kids when the school bus drops them off, and she is always the first one they will want to kiss and hug. She loves sneaking to my sister's house next door for morsels of salmon skin, or the fat, chewy bits of roast beef. She has two families to love her, that's for sure. Some days, if she's in the mood, she'll even play catch with you! Still, she is very much her own dog, indulging you only if she feels like it. Many a time, we still see a lot of sadness in her eyes.

After Bath Snack

Are we glad we got her? Definitely. We've always had a dog in our family and it just seemed a natural thing to complete the family. My child who sometimes laments being an only child is happy to have a dog for a sister (I suspect, for an 8 year old boy, this is way cooler than having a human baby sister!). We may not always know what to do, or what is normal behavior for a former street dog adjusting to a home, so many thanks to god-ma Lisa for being available to support us on that.

Lulu watching world cup Argentina vs Belgium with the boys

Written by : Hong May Kong (Lulu’s forever Mommy)

Note from HOPE : Adopting an adult or senior street dog is rather different from adopting a puppy. A puppy may never know how tough it is living on the streets. An adult street dog would have survived accidents, dog fights, abuse, starvation and endured sun and rain just to make it through the day. Thus, when you adopt them, a lot of patience is required. Many of them come "fresh from the streets". They have never been in a car, a lift, or a home. They might be terrified of a leash / collar because they may have been caught previously or dislike the feeling of being choked. They may be scared of certain family members or sounds and try to bolt. Some don't even know how to drink from a water bowl because they have drank from puddles on the roads all their lives.

Adopting an adult or senior street dog is extremely rewarding. It might be challenging as well, and lots of patience and understanding is needed, but the rewards from seeing them learn to adapt and eventually realize that they finally have love, home, regular meals and a forever roof, is something money can't buy and that is priceless.