Little Dog With A Huge Courage (Harper's 1st Update)

Today is the 5^th day since Harper’s rescue and we are happy to say that she’s doing much better in just these few days!

Together all the way!

In the first two days over the weekend, Harper was still rather quiet and spent her time sitting and staring at nothing much, not stimulated and lively at all. Perhaps, in the short weeks since her birth, she only knew one thing; struggle to survive, and is momentarily lost now that she’s in safe hands, without a gnawing hunger to preoccupy her. Or perhaps, she is disoriented by the gentle human touch and the foreign environment, surely a far cry from the dusty, noisy and harsh worksite where she eked her survival on her own. Harper definitely also lacked proper nutrition and this probably contributed to her underdevelopment and small size.

Her head fits into a styrofoam cup. That's how tiny she is!

Lisa and Lynette putting Harper in a box and bringing her out for some fresh air.

Little Harper did not poo over the weekend but on the third day excreted a big amount of live worms, confirming our concerns over her belly. At the moment her stomach still looks distended and feels like a balloon when we gently press it. We are concerned.

Poor baby Harper looking like a giant rat with her distended tummy.

We did another X-ray yesterday to check if there are still gravel and metal pins remaining in her intestines and the Vet said they don't see any foreign body in her at this moment. Hopefully it has been passed out. We were concerned that her intestines and colon might be punctured, and were advised to look out for vomiting, which indicates some kind of blockage in Harper. At the moment, Harper is eating very well and loves milk, though she would also gladly drink water when given some.  

 

The callous on her chest has dried up

 

The vets cant conclude if her weak hind legs are caused by spina bifida or from trauma at an early age. An MRI might give us a better insight but we don't feel that it's necessary. The money could be better spent on her therapy and early intervention instead.

 

Trying to make her use her hind legs

 

It is a pity that Harper is still wobbly on her feet at the moment, because her cheeky face surely belies a really playful nature! One of her hind legs is weaker than the other – her right hind leg is noticeably thinner, shorter and has no muscle tone at all. It is literally skin and bones and we noticed Harper does not rely on this leg to crawl about.

Baby Harper sound asleep on the chair while the volunteers spent time with her

Her left hind leg is slightly stronger, and reminds us so much of Matthieu. However the hind  legs are still not strong enough for her to push herself up to stand. Harper is all wobbly and falls within a few seconds although this is a far cry from when we first rescued her, where all she could do was crawl and drag herself. 

When we visit her, we would bring her out for some fresh air. We put her on a towel so that her tiny paws can have better grip on the flannel surface. This sweet puppy never stops trying and seems to be stronger day by day!! We can also see that she’s much more active, livelier, hopeful and there’s always the tell-tale cheekiness in her eyes! It’s only been a few days but Harper has already endeared herself to us so much. How could we not do our best for this tiny fragile puppy?

 

Her tongue is not as pale as before and is no longer anemic. Her health should continue to improve with the better nutrition she’s been getting.

 

Her favourite meal for now!

 

Harper is still leaking pee and doesn’t seem to be able to control her poo too, although we’re not sure if this is a transient puppy condition, or incontinence. We would continue to observe her for a few more weeks.

Harper is too young for her vaccinations at the moment; we’ll be sure to get her protected in about 2 weeks’ time. In the meantime, she must not come into contact with other dogs, and anyone handling her should wash his/her hands before touching her as her immunity is likely low.

Her eye ulcer seems to have cleared up although her eyes still tear slightly. We thought her breathing was rather laboured but a check with the vet said her heart was good and that it sounded normal.

Despite her health difficulties, Harper is all play and fun! She’s teething and absolutely love the chew toys and treats that volunteers brought for her! The daily visits has really lifted her spirits and she’s now visibly happier and stronger, behaving more like a normal pup. This little one never gives up and we are thankful to be here to support her all the way. We give her Reiki and massage and encourage her to stand and walk, and she cooperates wonderfully! She loves homemade meatballs and actually stood for quite a while to munch down on them heartily. With all that determination in a tiny body and everyone’s love, we are convinced that Harper will walk one day!

Watch Harper try to stand http://youtu.be/B0ShuWA1g0M

Thank you everyone for contributing to this rescue, through your donations for her vet bills, pee pads, puppy milk, treats and toys! Harper is touched by the love and kindness, and we are moved by your compassion time and again.

We will continue to do what we can to put her back on her tiny feet! Dr recommends physiotherapy for her and we’re trying to get more info on that. We hope you continue to support this little fighter.

 

Cuteness overload

 

Harper is just one of possibly ten other puppies at risk at the worksite she came from. Please consider donating regularly towards food for the other dogs left behind. Harper must surely be worried about them and given her sweet loving nature, she would most want her family to be well-fed and happy too.   

Harper has found a foster and we hope she finds a permanent home soon too. We will continue to provide updates as and when we have new information.

To help in any of the following :

1)      Future vet consultations

2)      Therapy

3)      Her daily needs – pee pads, towels, puppy milk, canned food, puppy kibbles

4)      Adopting Harper

Please email Fiona@hopedogrescue.org

Note : We can’t sterilize the dogs where little Harper comes from as they are on Jurong Island. Mr Aziz had checked with the authorities on this and they had told him if the dogs come out for sterilization, they will not be allowed to return to the island. As such, our hands are tied. If anyone knows how to work around this, please email us, so we can sterilize at least some of the dogs there. Thank you.

Written by Liw Yiling. Video credits Joceline Loo.

We Are Hoping For A Miracle

What can you do when the odds are against you and there’s nothing left to go on but hope? Hope that someone sees the pain you’re in, hope that help will come and hope that there’s indeed a light at the end of the tunnel and brighter days forevermore. This is the story of sweet determined Harper.

Little Harper, female, all of 6 weeks young

You can’t choose how you were born. If that’s the case, every dog would be born in a loving home with a name, a family to return that love tenfold to and a long healthy life ahead of them. Unfortunately for Harper, a six-week-young puppy, she was born in a filthy, dangerous construction site, without any food or shelter. Life dealt her an even harder card as she can’t use her hind legs. Since her birth, she has simply survived by crawling on her chest and dragging her hind legs over rough gravel and dirt.

We got to know about her situation from Mr Aziz who used his friend’s handphone to capture a photo of the pup and sent it to us at 8pm. At first glance, it looked like the puppy had a broken leg because of the way she was dragging her hind legs. Despite being low on funds and the astronomical charges of a late night visit to the vet, we decided to meet Mr Aziz at the vet with the puppy as we were more concerned about the great pain she would be suffering with a broken bone.

We received this photo via handphone and were extremely concerned

For those who don’t know Mr Aziz, he is a kind Muslim man who feeds strays at his worksite with food supplied by HOPE on a monthly basis and he was the one who informed us about Matthieu.

He said he had to work till 9.30pm so we said to just call us when he ended work. He then called later at night and told us that the puppy’s condition was more like Matthieu’s as she could not walk and was simply dragging her little body. A Thai worker who knew that Mr Aziz loved dogs told him about the puppies. There are actually ten of them from different litters and one had been crushed and killed by a heavy vehicle just this afternoon. Such is the harsh reality of life on the streets, unforgiving whether you’re an old sickly dog or a young healthy puppy.



Arrived in a box with Mr Aziz

He put the puppy into a box for transportation and she made no sound at all during the long journey from Jurong Island where he worked, to the vet clinic. After arriving at the vet, he asked if he could stay with the puppy. We were very touched knowing how he had just finished a hard day of work. In total, we spent almost two hours at the vet that night.

Watch little Harper's video here : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NuqO7UA_iLg&feature=youtu.be
 

She weighs just 1.1kg!!

She could hardly open her right eye where she had an eye ulcer

While waiting for the vet to arrive, the vet tech fed the puppy some canned food which she ate but still did not stand. She had diarrhea after that and her excrement was all black. Mr Aziz did not hesitate to clean her up even after we told him to leave it to us to clean as he is Muslim after all but he truly didn’t mind. We were touched by his love for an animal that he just found.

Fed canned food to see if she had a normal appetite

The vet tech then washed the puppy as she had poop on her hind legs and he commented that she could have been born this way as there were no visible injuries on her. Mr Aziz also added that she made no sound while in the lorry, nor showed any signs of discomfort or pain.



While waiting for the Doctor, she tried dragging herself on the table

When the vet arrived, upon our request, she did a blood test for distemper and parvovirus which the little puppy, thankfully, was negative for. Then we did a second x-ray after the first came out blur. While waiting for the results, the vet examined the puppy and noticed an ulcer in her right eye which explained why her eye was only half opened and teary. It didn’t help that she was dirty and dusty from the construction worksite.



Being examined by the Doctor

 

Checking her hind legs for sensations; she had some

 

The vet informed us that some puppies walk like a drunk when they are very young as they are still unsteady on their feet. But she estimated her to be only six weeks old and said she’s very small for her age and too unsteady so it’s obvious that her growth was not very normal.



A face that had never seen happiness

While waiting for the x-ray results, we chatted with Mr Aziz who had become a good friend of ours, as we’ve known him since Matthieu’s rescue. He had visited Matthieu a few times at the clinic and at his foster home. We also send food to him on a monthly basis to feed the strays at his worksite. (If you’d like to donate to support our efforts in providing for the strays in this area, please do not hesitate to contact us.) Mr Aziz cradled the puppy like a baby in his arms and even wrapped her in a towel so she would not feel cold as she was trembling very badly, from both fear and cold. He talked to her in Malay and told her to rest and that everything would be alright. He said he has told his colleagues many times whenever he sees them using sticks to chase or scare the dogs away, “these dogs have very hard life. If you don’t like, you just go away. Don’t need to beat them.” Such is the kindness of Mr Aziz.

Human kindness, Mr Aziz cradling the puppy while waiting for her xray results

He said he loved all animals and you could see the sadness in his eyes. He looked tired from a hard day’s work and yet, all he cared about at that moment was if the puppy would be okay.

The x-ray showed no cracks or fractures but there was an abnormal hump on her spine which the vet said looked like Spina Bifida, a condition that shows hind-end weakness, poor muscle tone, incontinence, incoordination and abnormal use of the tail. If it were true, then it means that the puppy will never walk again. We wanted to know if the puppy had control of her bowels and bladder but the vet said that she couldn’t tell unless she’s closely monitored for a week or so. Although she had diarrhea after she ate, she just dragged herself away using her two front legs.

We also noticed a callous-like bump on her chest, developed as a result of her dragging herself over a long period of time. What a tough life for a six-week-young puppy. It’s fortunate that the bigger dogs didn’t pick on her, as she would not have been able to escape them. The x-ray also revealed gravel and metal pins in her stomach. Can you imagine how hungry she must have been to have no choice but to fill her little stomach with these objects in order to quell that gnawing hunger? Thankfully, the gravel has already travelled down to her intestines and hopefully, she will pass it out naturally without the need for surgical intervention. Her stomach is also very distended which shows a possibility of worms and lots of gas. She is slightly anemic as her gums are pink but her tongue is pale. This could be from malnutrition.



Callous on little Harper's chest from dragging herself on the rough gravel

While we were waiting at the vet, we shared the news of the puppy’s condition with the rest of the team. Fellow volunteer Lisa then found a link on a dog named Harper. While the case was not identical, it inspired us to name this little one Harper, in the fervent hope that a miracle will take place for her and she will, someday, walk.

Mr Aziz said if the puppy cannot be saved, he would bring her back to Jurong Island where she was found. How could we possibly let that happen? We are known to save every dog that comes our way. But if she really has incontinence then we may have to make a tough decision. We already have problems rehoming sweet, normal local dogs, what more a special needs local dog?

The puppy was warded for the night and before he left, Mr Aziz wrapped her up in a towel so she wouldn’t feel cold and can have a good night’s sleep.

We will be taking her for a second opinion on Monday to confirm if she really has Spina Bifida and the steps we can take to help save little Harper.

We cannot emphasize enough the hard lives that strays often have to endure and how we only pay attention to them when something terrible truly happens and in this case, that’s little Harper’s tragic condition.

Just for that night’s consultation, the initial vet bill is already almost $800. She will be staying for a day or two while we find a foster who is willing to take care of her. We also need funds to pay for a second opinion on her condition. If there’s anyone who can help her, be it through a cash donation or fostering or adopting her, please email Fiona (Fiona@hopedogrescue.org).

Against all odds, her silent cry for help has reached us. Everything happens for a reason so let’s all do the best we can for her. Although life was hard for her first six weeks in this world, Mr Aziz helped turn it around and now we have the ability to give her a better future and a shot at a more comfortable life. Together we can make a miracle happen for sweet little Harper who deserves so much more than this. 



Thank you for saving me

Written by Eloise Lee. Video credits Joceline Loo. (Thanks Joceline for working on the video till the wee hours.)

Polka Dog Updates (The Lucky Dog)

After weeks of search for a fosterer for Polka, we came back with disappointing responses. At first, we received a call from a lady, who was interested in fostering Polka. But after visiting him at the vet and bringing him for 2 rounds of walks, she decided that Polka was too big in size for her. We also received numerous messages from people who were interested to foster Polka, as they felt sorry for him, but backed out in the last minute due to various reasons.

 

It was evident that he could not adapt to being confined in the cage, which was so small that when he stands on all four legs, his head will touch the top of the cage. He would bark insistently to be brought out of the cage, and each time he barks, his head will bump onto the top of the cage, which resulted in a bruise on his head.

The bruise on Polka's head

 

With a heavy heart, we were brought to our last resort, which was to bring Polka back to where we found him (the workshop at the industrial park). It isn’t the best option but all we could do was to check with the people there if they could help us to look out for Polka, as well as to pass them food and other items to make sure that Polka would be well taken care of.

Much as we hated to release him back to the streets, we knew that we could not have Polka boarding in the vet forever, where he was kept in a small cage. After all, he had been a stray dog all of his life – he had been conditioned to a life where he was able to roam around freely, and to have him confined to a small cage was definitely something he wasn’t going to get used to.



Polka and Ah Girl at were at the vet together

After three weeks in the vet, we decided that it was time for us to release Polka back to where we found him. Fiona arranged for a pet transport to have Polka brought back to the workshop, and I had already called the vet to inform them that we would like to have Polka discharged from the vet the very next day. That night, I could not stop thinking about Polka – what the future holds for him and how will his remaining days will be like. I could not help but feel sad that we could not do more for Polka, and on the other hand, there are many other dogs out there suffering the same fate, or much worse.

Early next day, I went to the vet to pick Polka up and arranged for his discharge before the pet transport came. I brought Polka out of the vet and we sat at the car park while waiting for the pet transport to arrive. I could see that Polka was excited – he was expecting me to bring him for a walk around the vet, which I normally do. But soon, he realized that we were not going for his walk around the vet, and he started to howl and whimper. It was a heart-breaking sight. Soon, the pet transport arrived and after bringing Polka up to the van, we were off to the workshop.



Polka waiting to be discharged

 

As I drove my car behind the pet transport van, I could see that Polka was excited to go on a car-ride, as he was prancing back and forth inside the van. For a while, he even sat at the front seat of the van – he was clearly enjoying his ride back! As we were nearing our destination, it was evident that Polka knew where he was going. He was getting more and more excited, and started barking when we turned in to the industrial park.
 

Upon reaching, we brought Polka out of the van. It was not difficult to bring him out of it; he happily jumped out of the van without our assistance. As we brought him around the area we found him, all of a sudden, we heard someone saying in Mandarin “isn’t that Lucky? His owner has been looking for him!” and he was pointing to the workshop unit next to his.

 

I was truly taken by surprise – little did I know that Polka had an owner all along! Then I brought Polka over to the next unit, and his owner who introduced himself as Uncle Soon, was just as surprised to see Polka. He came over to us, beaming from ear to ear. He said that he could not believe that he will be able to see Lucky Polka again, as he thought that he had went somewhere faraway to go off quietly. It was obvious that Lucky Polka was as excited to see his owner again, as much as Uncle Soon. It was a happy reunion!



Uncle Soon and Lucky Polka finally reunited after 3 weeks!

 



Look at the love in his eyes

Uncle Soon shared that he has been taking care of Lucky Polka since he was a little puppy, and it has been 15 years since then. He even showed me a photo of Lucky Polka from his younger days. I updated him on the events that happened over the last few weeks with Lucky Polka, and also broke the news to him about Polka’s health (his heartworm condition, cancerous masses found in his chest and stomach). Uncle Soon said that he has taken care of Lucky Polka for the last few years, and he will continue to take care of him until his final day here on Earth.



A photograph of Lucky Polka from his younger days, pasted  on a wall in Uncle Soon's workshop

Before I left, I passed Lucky Polka’s medication to Uncle Soon, and explained to him on how frequent he should feed them to him. As he does not know how to read English, he told me to explain to him while he writes it down in Mandarin. With this, I knew that Lucky Polka is under good hands.

 

The following week, I went to visit Polka and Uncle Soon. It was a humid day, and Lucky Polka was lying down on the concrete floor to cool off. Upon seeing me, Lucky Polka stood up and started to smell my hand. He could recognize me! And he couldn’t look any better – he was looking so much happier! Apart from that, he seems to have gained weight as well. Uncle Soon says that he has been eating well, and have been taking his medication on time as well.

 



Lucky Polka, 1 week after being reunited with Uncle Soon

 

Like they always say, every cloud has a silver lining. Perhaps it was a blessing in disguise that Lucky Polka did not find a fosterer or adopter. If not, he would never be reunited with Uncle Soon. Lucky Polka is indeed, a lucky dog. I do wish that all the dogs out there will be as lucky and blessed as Lucky Polka.

 

I would like to thank Fiona and HOPE Dog Rescue for their guidance on my first dog rescue, and may there be more to come!

Written by Denise Lim. Photographs courtesy of Joceline Loo and Denise Lim

Ben & Jerry

We were at Seletar Country Club for a different reason. We had received reports of two dachshunds that had been reportedly abandoned at the beach nearby. They were supposedly spotted at some fish shack off an uncompleted road. After driving around the area for nearly two hours based on very vague descriptions given to us by various sources, we finally found the spot. However it was during this drive that fate that led us to Ben and Jerry.

From the main road, we saw this little injured puppy inside the construction site (we named him Jerry)

We drove past a filthy, dusty construction site and saw two small dogs on the dirt track. From afar, they looked like the dachshunds we were looking for so we turned back and entered the site. However when we got near, we realized that they were local breed, 1-month-old puppies; two brothers, black and one cream.

Spot the tiny puppy

Only as big as a shoe (big brother Ben)

Workers from the construction site were standing around looking at the two puppies so I asked them if they knew where the puppies came from, or if they knew where the puppies’ mommy was. One of the workers said that someone had taken these two puppies from Seletar Country Club and brought them over, thus separating them from their mommy.

Little Jerry. Had we not saved him, he would have died from an infection or septic shock

While talking I noticed that the cream puppy had a broken tail, hanging at a strange angle. I asked the worker if he knew what happened but he didn’t. Instead he asked if the tail could be cut off! This was something only a vet could determine so we decided to take it to one. We took down the worker’s details, promising to return the following day to pick the puppies up to see the vet. As we left, I looked at the dismal conditions around us; the site was extremely dirty, dangerous and dusty. There was a little broken down doghouse that the worker tried to keep the dogs in but they didn’t want to stay in it, for obvious reasons. It was terribly small, left out in the open under the hot sun. When it rained, there was no proper shelter so the rain splashed in. The bowls of water they left for the dog was filled with red ants. The worker was angry that the puppies did not want to stay in the small house. It was saddening to find humans who did not understand dogs at all.

The workers expected the puppies to live there alone!

Empty food and water bowls, infested with red ants

We continued our search for the dachshunds and finally found them at the fish shack as described. The uncle living at the fish shack said that someone had previously abandoned 3 dogs there but one went missing, leaving only the two we saw. We took the time to observe the two dogs, which seemed healthy and happy. The uncle actually took pains to take care of them, showing us the dog food he had bought for them. We left, assured that they were cared for by someone.

Imagine these little puppies living alone, without mommy, food or water. (Jerry)

Baby Ben

Young volunteer Sherrie pointed out that the vet was still open and that we could take the puppy with the broken tail in, so we returned to the site where we first found them. The two pups were asleep amidst the debris, so we carried them in towels and rushed to vet.

Gracia taking the puppies to safety

A badly injured and broken tail

 

Our volunteers Sherrie held Jerry, while Gracia carried Ben (black puppy) during our drive to the vet. We decided to take Ben along, as we didn’t want him to miss his brother and wander out to main road looking for him only to be hit by a car. We also thought that we might as well bring him in for a full medical check-up and deworm. Vaccination had to wait, as they were too young for it as it is typically given at 6-8 weeks old. They were barely a month old.

Jerry's broken tail

After checking Jerry’s broken tail, the vet said that it was probably broken a few days before as the wound was very raw. It could possibly have been stuck in something and the skin and tail broke while Jerry tried to break free from being stuck. The vet also said that if we did not amputate the broken tail, the wound might turn septic and worsen. He advised that we did it now while the puppy was fit so that it had a better chance of recovery. We decided to heed the vet’s advice.

Sherrie with Jerry

Gracia with Ben

So the tail amputation was done the next day. The little puppy cried and whined so much – probably in pain, and also missing his mommy and brother by his side. Such a tragedy, to have such harm and pain come to a tiny creature that had only lived on earth for 30 days.

Poor Jerry after his tail amputation

Both puppies are currently being fostered by young volunteer Gracia but we desperately need to get them adopted soon. We don’t have a shelter or the funds to keep them for long, not with the 15 other rescue dogs we are still trying to find homes for. These puppies are too young to be returned to where they were found. They deserve to be placed in a home that can give them the love that they need to grow and thrive.

ADOPT JERRY

ADOPT BEN


If you would like to help, you could do so by dropping us an email if you wish to do one of the following:

1)    Help us with the vet bills incurred by Jerry’s surgery. You may do so by sending a cheque to Hope Dog Rescue.

2)    Adopt Jerry (male, 1 mth old, local cross breed)

3)    Adopt Ben (male, 1 mth old, local cross breed)

Email Fiona@hopedogrescue.org

Photo credits Gracia Ang and Sherrie Tan. Written by Elaine Quek for Fiona Foo