Pain, fear, hunger, loneliness – these are just some of the everyday
feelings of our Singapore street dogs. For the past 4 months, a kind
aunty has been feeding White White, a sweet natured dog living alone in a
forested area. She took pity on him when she first saw him as he was
skinny, scared and hungry. Aunty doesn’t dare to go near White White as
he is a big dog, so she would leave food for him nightly and leave. 2
weeks ago, Aunty noticed a small wound on the right side of White White’s face,
likely caused by other dogs’ attack due to fighting over food, female in heat
or just territorial behavior. The humid weather and lack of medical
attention led the wound to worsen rapidly and started smelling bad, due to
maggot infestation. Aunty got worried and frantically tried to contact 2
animal welfare groups and while one did not respond, the other told her to
resolve on her own. Aunty then met a jogger who suggested that Aunty
contact Hope and our volunteers went to check on the situation the same evening.
Volunteers managed to get quite close, about an arm’s length as White White is
just a sweet tired soul in pain and wanting help with no display of
aggression. However, he was wary and scared of the humans and walked off
shortly, leaving a lingering maggot stench.
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| Waiting to be helped |
Volunteers decided to trap White White the following night as we
cannot leave him in the lurch to waste away. It took 2 hours to trap him and
the poor boy howled and barked in the cage all the way to the vet, terrified
and not knowing what to expect. The real extent of his wound can only be
seen at the vet as blood started dripping as he stood in the cage.
Maggots infestation caused the smell of the rotting flesh, and the maggots ate
the skin and flesh on the right side of his face. This reminded us of
Hugo and we are thankful that we managed to get him in time for treatment. The
pain, suffering and fear must be immensely unbearable as the horrific wound
stretched from the top of his face to under the
neck. White White was traumatized and terrified so we warded him at
the vet for the night to allow complete rest. Despite the discomfort,
White White ate the food that the vet provided for supper, probably too hungry
as some dogs would be unable to eat under such painful and stressful
circumstances.
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| Huge maggot infested wound from the top if his head all the way down to his jaw |
We
are grateful that his eye is not affected, however, it will be a long road to recovery
for White White who may need a few surgeries to close the wound. The first
one would be to debride the wound, done under general anaesthesia. White White is expected to be at the
vet for up to 3 weeks and the few surgeries required will cost around $3,000 to
$5,000. White White, estimated to be only 3 – 4
years old, looks weary and bears the scars of being a stray in
Singapore. Before we left the clinic,
he leaned on the gate for a pat on his forehead, such is the simple yearning
for love.
Do
you have the space in your house for a sweet loyal companion? Would you
help White White with his vet bills? Please
contact: hopedogrescue@singnet.com.sg
