Cody Gets a Forever Home

Cody is finally adopted!

After half a lifetime of waiting for his angel, our dear Cody has  finally found his forever home! We are so happy beyond words because  he couldn’t have found a better home. For that, we are eternally grateful to his new pawrents for giving him a chance.

In his new home, Cody has since settled in very comfortably, going for  walks and drives, as well as dog friendly cafes. In short, Cody is  living a life he did not even dare to dream of previously.

We would like to thank all the kind angels who helped Cody in one way  or another, and for saving his life.

Five years ago, Cody was part of a pack of strays near the northeast area.

While there was a regular feeder that would feed them every evening,  there were vast developments, and limited space. The strays were,  unfortunately, forced to fight for food and territory.

Cody was one of dogs that was attacked resulting in a gaping wound on  his rump. His feeder saw his injury and contacted us for help, which  we did. Our initial plan was to trap Cody, treat his wound, sterilize  and release him back.

However, as Cody’s wound took almost 3 months to heal as he had a very  bad skin condition, we did not want to release him as it would have  been too risky to release him back. We were concerned he may not have  survived after spending many months indoors.

Besides his skin condition, Cody was also diagnosed with heartworm. He  was so sad and weak, and kept to himself all the time. It seemed as  though he had given up on life.

Things only started to look up for Cody 10 months after his rescue,  when volunteers spent much of their time and effort to get him treated  and rehabilitated.

This poor quiet boy had spent almost 6 long years waiting for a place  to call home. As Cody is not one who would show affection readily, he  was always overlooked at adoption drives. It did not help that he had  some health concerns with a spleen condition and sensitive skin that  requires care. He gets enquiries but it never gets beyond that.

We felt terribly sad for him each time he gets uprooted after having  settled in a place. Over the years, he had a look of stoic resignation  towards his fate.

But now, there is hope again, and we LOVE a happy ending like Cody’s.

Once again, we would like to thank everyone who has helped Cody find  his happily ever after – from his new owners, to all the volunteers  who gave him their time.

Written by: Felicia Tan

Jolly update (I)

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

Nano Tribute

Nano was rescued by Hope in 2012 – when his owners returned to China and left him behind.  He was blind, underfed and unkempt.

Fortunately for him we found a foster in Michelle McDonald, who was then living in Sentosa as her husband was posted to work here in Singapore. Nano was extremely well loved and well taken care off. He adapted well despite not being able to see.

 

When Michelle and family had to leave Singapore to return home, they were so in love with Nano that they took him back with them to USA.

 

All these years we have kept in touch with Nano's family – he lived a life that many dogs could only dream of – he travelled halfway around the world, lovely walks, playing in snow during winter and boat rides during the summer. He was so loved.

 

As age caught up, Nano started having seizures. Over time, the seizures got so bad that medication could no longer control it and that dreaded decision had to be made.

 

From the bottom of our hearts, we thank Michelle and her family for loving Nano the way they did and giving him the best life any little dog could ask for and we hope they are keeping well.

 

*Photo credits : Michelle McDonald

Animal Cruelty (Jolly the Shihtzu)

Do you believe in fate?

I definitely do.

I don’t usually look at the Lost & Found page on Facebook, unless someone I know has lost a dog. However, last night (Saturday), I happened to look at my Facebook and the first thing that appeared was a photo of a very badly matted Shihtzu, found by a guy by the name of Fabian Ang. He had commented on Facebook that he would bring the dog to the vet the next day to scan for a microchip.

This was the post that started it all

I happened to be not too far away so I offered to go down with my microchip scanner and save him the trouble of bringing her to the vet the next day. It was 11.30pm but he agreed for me to go over as there was a family there to verify if it was their lost Shihtzu that went missing sometime in June.

I scanned the dog and unfortunately, the microchip number did not match theirs.

At the lift lobby scanning the microchip

While we were talking, I noticed that the dog was rather listless and her breathing was shallow. I suggested we take her to the emergency vet right away. Fabian kindly offered to come along.

How our hearts hurt just looking at her

On the way to the vet, I found out from Fabian that he had found the dog at about 8+pm and the dog was left outside his door step. His dog had started barking, so he opened the door to check and found the lifeless Shihtzu right in front. He took the dog in – she was covered with pee and poo and smelled so bad. Her fur was badly matted and her nails were so long it grew sideways. He gave her a quick bath, dried and fed her. The dog took a while before she started eating, drinking and even managed a poo.

She hardly moved in the car

How did the dog end up outside his door step and it wasn’t a ground floor unit. Whoever who brought the dog all the way up had deliberately taken the lift up and probably knew Fabian had a dog and would help this dog.

Waiting to see the vet

At the vet, we did the basic checks as it was after hours and the emergency charges weren’t cheap.
The vet had listened to her heart and lungs but her fur was so thick and badly matted, she could hardly hear through all that fur. Typical of this breed, she had very dry eyes and her eyes were so dry that there was scarring on her eyes and the vet reckoned her vision might be only about 20% or so.
Her gums were red and sore, she had gingivitis. Her nails were so long that she could hardly walk.
Today during the vet’s normal hours, we will do some blood tests to find out her kidney & liver functions, and also check for tick fever and heartworm. We have asked the vet to help clips her nails as well.

What did evil humans do to her?

Such a painful sight

Vet checking her eyes

Poo stuck on her fur

Nails so long it curled sideways

The vet noticed a long scar on her belly while shaving her - what was that scar for?

We have reported this case to the relevant authorities and will update more on this poor dog’s condition when we have more information.

For now, the vet has named her Jolly because I had named her Shihtzu 😊

We would like to thank Fabian for being so kindhearted and taking her in to clean and feed her. Let’s hope she pulls through this.

Thank you Fabian for helping Jolly

If you would like to help with Jolly’s vet bill or have information on this dog, please email hopedogrescue@singnet.com.sg. Thank you.

Written by Fiona

Duke

Last Saturday, we saw an injured senior dog living in an abandoned factory. He had abrasions on the right side of his body and was limping in agony. We just had to get him to the vet.

Watch his rescue here.

The next day, Sunday, our dedicated volunteers again went down to look for him, this time with towels, leashes and a carrier, to trap him.

He snapped at us a few times but who wouldn’t, if a total stranger caught you! Perhaps it was his age, the amount of pain he was in, or he was actually a sweet dog deep down inside, but he didn’t put up much of a struggle. Maybe he was happy to be caught, after having lived on the streets for a decade, he was tired; every day was a day of survival, trying to escape traffic and searching for food.

The vet’s initial examination revealed he was severely dehydrated, blood pressure was very low and white blood count was very high, possibly from infection and inflammation, but otherwise, his organs were all perfect and he was even tested negative for heartworm and tick fever.

He has abrasions on his right side and a broken left hind leg, fractured in many places. His right eye has a mass and his left eye is blind. The vet estimates him to be at least 10 years old. He is skinny but he is a huge dog. He weighs 28kg on his thin frame.

Was he beaten by someone? Or was he a victim of a hit and run, like most strays?

He is now warded while we try our best to raise fund and make decisions.

The vet has given us two options :

Amputation $2500
Try to repair his femur fracture $4800

And then we have to worry about the costs of being warded, medication, follow ups and reviews, looking for a foster etc Rescuing a dog isn’t easy; neither does it come cheap. It is a long process of worries.

We will provide more updates when we can. Meanwhile he is resting at the vet and they say he is a gentle giant.

We have named him Duke. Please help Duke.

Happy for Jessie!

It is a happy time for many people in Singapore as they are finally allowed out to meet friends they have not seen in 2 months or more. Here at HOPE, we have even more happy news to share - Willow is a failed foster case! How is that happy news, you may ask? Well, Willow's foster family turned out to be bad at fostering a lovable being such as she that they decided to adopt her instead!

Willow is a 10-year-old senior schnauzer who came to HOPE in early Feb as a victim of unintentional neglect. Her previous owner was, herself, elderly and could not provide the necessary care and attention to Willow, so her daughter sought HOPE to help find a new home for Willow.

When we first met Willow at the vet, she looked to be in such a sorry state with dull and unkempt hair, wherever they managed to grow in patches on her dry and flaky skin anyway. She was riddled with health issues, but thankfully, none of them major.

It was difficult to find a fosterer willing to take her on such short notice. Fortunately, Volvo's former fosterer, a SAHM, came to our rescue. Despite the awful condition of Willow's skin, and having to already juggle the care of a senior cat and her children, she took Willow in without hesitation.

Willow quickly settled in in her new home. With TLC, her skin started to improve under medication, and her playful and curious personality started to emerge. She was easy-going and affectionate with everyone, including the cat, and she fancied herself a foodie, always shuffling at her humans' feet, waiting for her next meal or snack.

Although her skin had started to improve, she still had bald patches where fur might never grow back in, just like a burn victim. Over the CB period, we had numerous applications to adopt her. However, they all amounted to nothing once they learnt of her skin and the care and attention it required. Also, because she was a senior dog who seemed to thrive in people's company, we did not want her to be left alone at home once the CB period is over and people have to go back to the office for hours on end a day. Meanwhile, the bond between Willow and her foster family seemed to strengthen in the CB period. Willow found a great feline friend in Ollie, the 15-year-old family cat adopted from SPCA, and became a fantastic playmate to the children in the family. She not only tolerated being cuddled like a baby by the children, but seemed to enjoy her role as the baby sister the younger daughter in the family never had. It soon became clear to the family that they could not part with Willow, nor trust anyone else to provide the proper care for her as well as them.

Willow is now named Jessie, which means God is gracious. We are really happy for Jessie and her now forever family. Her family loves her just as much as she loves them. Thank you Jaime and Derek for taking a chance on Jessie and taking care of her medical and emotional needs and will continue to do so as you officially make her a permanent part of your family. This is like a fairy tale come true and may you live happily ever after.

The tale of Willow (or Jessie now) is a tale of how adoption saves lives, and how adopted dogs make great pets. Adopt, don't shop! It matters not how dogs come into your life, only that they do.


 Written By: Sam

Why is fostering important?

Many people have the misconception that fostering is just a short period of dog ownership - a less permanent form of adoption; something for people who can't commit to the years of responsibility, perhaps. But that couldn't be further from the truth! Fostering requires a high level of commitment, both emotional and time-wise.

Unlike pet dogs that have only ever known a sheltered, pampered home life, the dogs we rescue have endured and suffered much more. A fosterer is not taking a perfect dog into their home; they are rescuing a damaged dog and helping it to get its life back on track, bit by bit.

Just after their rescue, HOPE's dogs are often fearful, confused, untrained, and usually in bad shape. It's the job of fosterers to nurse them back to health, to train and socialize them, and to get them ready for adoption. A fosterer helps a dog become the best that it can be. It's like taking a raw hunk of coal and turning it into a diamond. It is by no means an easy task!

Being a fosterer means keeping a watchful eye on a foster dog, feeding it nutritious food and giving it its medications, making notes on its progress, looking out for any abnormalities, teaching it how to act with humans and other animals, and of course, giving it lots and lots of love. All of this requires a lot of time and dedication, arguably more so than just caring for a healthy pet.

After all of this, a fosterer is sure to develop an emotional bond with his or her foster dog, which is essential to the development of the dog. A foster dog needs to learn how to form healthy and trusting relationships, something that is new to a lot of street dogs and abused dogs. Loving a foster dog, and having it love you in return, is the healthiest and the best thing that you can do for it. It makes for a bittersweet goodbye at the time of adoption. After all, it's never easy giving up a piece of your heart. But at the same time, you'd know that you've helped to groom a dog into the perfect pet, and you'd be proud.

Chester, when he was first rescued.

Chester, after fostering

HOPE Dog Rescue is always in need of foster homes for our rescued dogs. As far as possible, we refrain from ever putting our fresh rescues in commercial boarding kennels. Lonely and neglected, a recovering dog will never receive an adequate level of care at these places. Financially, placing dogs in kennels also doesn't make sense, as the money could be better used to pay for medications and medical care.

Read our Fostering FAQ to find out more.

If you feel that you are ready for this life-changing experience (and the responsibilities that come with it), please fill up online form here.