Adoption Drive This Saturday and Harper’s Birthday Bash!

“How much is that doggy in the window? Woof woof! The one with the waggly tail. How much is that doggy in the window? Woof woof! I do hope that doggy's for sale.” We’re not into selling puppies and we definitely don’t promote that but have you, like Patti Page, always wanted to bring a dog home? If so, do come down to our a-dog-tion drive at Cornerstone Café in Bishan Park on Saturday, 4 April 2015! 8 of our dogs will be there to meet you and volunteers will be on hand to answer any queries you may have.

While we will not be bringing cute little puppies that you would swoon over, we do however have one Baby Lily that will be coming by and our adult dogs who are just as charming or even more charming than puppies and less work than puppies. Instead of supporting the cruelty of puppy mills, you would be saving a life (make that two lives since you would free up our resources for another dog to be rescued, perhaps even three, since the addition of a fur baby to your home could change your life for good) and gaining a loyal companion and unconditional love. So what are you waiting for? Adopt a dog and save two (or three!) lives today!   

Date : 4 April (Saturday) 2015

Time : 11.00am to 3.30pm

Venue : The Cornerstone Cafe (Bishan Park) 

Without further ado, let us introduce you to the darlings who are still looking for their forever home. *drum roll* First up, we have Attractive Asher! 

Rescued when he was just a palm sized puppy with maggot wounds almost as large as his tiny body, Asher is now 10 months old and extremely suave looking. He is tall, dark and handsome – what more could you ask for? Asher is well-behaved and well-mannered. Although he is still considered a puppy, he is polite, sweet, charming and obedient. Asher walks well on leash, gets on with other dogs and love being a family dog. He is fine with toddlers and shows no signs of any aggression whatsoever.

Asher resembles a Great Dane and because he is tall and lanky, he is not HDB approved.

Come on down and meet him, he would love to give you a lick!

Next, we have Bashful Blake! 

Blake has been waiting 16 months for a home of his own. He is a sweetheart and gets on with dogs as well as young children. He is non-confrontational and easy-going. Blake is a little wary with traffic and loud noises but with time and exposure, he will soon overcome those fears.

Read his rescue story here.

Blake is a male local crossbreed, estimated to be about 1 ½ years old. He is fully vaccinated, sterilized and in perfect health. He enjoys long walks in the park and is outdoor trained. He has no separation anxieties and can be left home alone while you are at work.

Will you give handsome Blake a home? Come meet him and maybe he’s just the one you’ve been searching for.

Charming Cassie will also be attending our adoption drive!

Amongst our team of volunteers, Cassie is known internally as the world’s best dog and trust us, she truly is! She is just about a year old and had gone through hell and back with a neck wound so large that her head was almost falling off.

Completely healed, 100% rehabilitated, Cassie is the sweetest, goofiest dog you will ever find. She is easy going, knows her boundaries, extremely obedient, knows when to play and when to chill. She is affectionate, extremely loyal and has zero aggression. She gets on excellently with any dog and is non-confrontational. She also loves children and allows us to open her mouth, feed medication, touch her food etc – you couldn’t ask for more.

You must meet her to believe us and we reckon that the family who adopts Cassie would be the luckiest people on earth because that’s how good Cassie is.

Dawn the Dame will be at the drive to meet potential adopters too! 

Dawn is a senior dog who spent all her life being a watchdog in a factory. She was ferocious and guarded her factory with pride. Three years back, a car hit her and snapped her leg. After amputation, she returned to the factory and continued her job as a guard dog. She was not only an excellent guard dog, she was also the alpha dog in the factory.

Finally last year we decided that she should retire as she seemed very tired and her three legs were getting weak. She was still pretty ferocious and territorial and it took the foster a month or so before she could pat her and gain her trust.

Today, Dawn is a changed dog; she is affectionate, sweet and well-behaved because she has finally realized that she is no longer a guard dog. She has retired and she is a pet.

Do you want to be happy? Adopt Happy! 

Happy is a fun, extremely easy going dog. She is easily contented and keeps herself entertained playing with toys or in the garden. She gets on well with dogs and older, calmer children.

Happy is a female local crossbreed, estimated to be about 3 years old. She is tall, gorgeous and can be a possible blood donor. That would mean you saving her life and she saving more lives!

Happy is fully vaccinated, sterilized and in perfect health. She is tall and pretty well built, thus not HDB approved.

Lovely Lily will also be there! 

Always wanted a puppy? Baby Lily is going to make her first public appearance (and Dawn too!) so if you would like a gorgeous, intelligent puppy, come on down and meet this cute puppy in “dogson”. She is just about 3 months old and a bundle of joy to have in anyone’s home!

Smart Sida will also be attending the adoption drive! 

Having had her life shattered by a careless, irresponsible driver, brave SiDa has managed to forget about her past, rebuild her life, and move on. She no longer has the use of her hind legs and is incontinent but SiDa is one dog that has amazing resilience and fighting spirit.

Read her rescue story here 

She is still the alpha dog, feared by many dogs and commanding great respect from the younger dogs, despite not being too old herself. As a special needs dog, SiDa really isn’t too difficult to care for; all she needs is her daily walks on her wheelchair, hydrotherapy to keep her limbs from wasting away and a loving mommy to clean her up whenever she pees / poos. That’s really not very much to ask for, for a dog who had her entire future taken away in a moment of recklessness.

SiDa is a local crossbreed, estimated to be about 4 years old and in perfect health, save for the occasional UTI which is common in dogs who are incontinent.

Of course, how can we forget our showstopper, Harper? Guess what? We think Harper's birthday might be in April and we always find reason to celebrate!  The little one would be so happy if you could come down to our adoption drive and bring her dog pals home. That would be the best birthday present for her! We will be throwing a surprise party for her at the adoption drive at 3 p.m. and all our dogs are looking forward to that . . . someone must have leaked that secret. Harper's cake is kindly sponsored by The Barkery so come and soak in the fun and to join paws with Harper in her celebration! For those who do not know who Harper is, you may watch her video here and read her story here. Her German Shepherd appearance belies her cheeky and fun nature. Even though life has not been the kindest to Harper, she has persevered on and been a fighter. She has brought cheer to all our volunteers. We never fail to be amazed by Harper’s resilience and determination and are so proud of how far she has come. Harper has never given up in the face of adversity and has embraced life with her cheeky smile and active hops. It is amazing how she is able to hop quicker than some of our dogs run and how she has proven the doctors wrong when they said we should put Harper down and she will never walk. Even though poor Harper has no family to celebrate with, she celebrates life and is cause for celebration herself. When we look at her, we see the bounty of life and are inspired to hop on with her, no matter how tough life gets at times. 

Harper cannot harp enough on the significance of the upcoming adoption drive and hopes to see you there! Won’t you attend it fur her? *puppy eyes* We are sure you will fall head over heels in love with our lovely dogs and the love you experience will endure and be more than just puppy love. Do paw-p by our a-dog-tion drive! On behalf of our dog pals, bow wow (thank you)! 


Written by Ng Weiling

A State Of Emergency

It was during one of our feeding rounds when we spotted a heavily pregnant dog. Our hearts sank. Puppies are cute but it also means they will grow up to be stray dogs who will most likely never experience how hugs, pats or even a full stomach feels like. They will face ostracism, hunger and be exposed to the harsh weather at all times.

It was on this very depressing day that we were dealt with another blow. The factory is moving as the government is reclaiming the land back in a month or so, even the electricity will be cut off in a week’s time. What is going to happen to the 25 dogs living on the premises? And there will probably be more with more pregnancies and more puppies. We have to sterilize them and fast. In the past week our volunteers have been going down every evening after work, spending hours at the factory, trapping dogs for sterilization. To date, we have sterilized almost 10, but we have to stop for the time being due to a lack of funds.

This dangerous site is their home

As for mama dog, we had no choice but to bring her to the vet as we do not wish for her to come to any danger. It’s not a good environment, there are heavy vehicles everywhere with mud and debris covering the ground. There are snakes too, hovering below the tyres stored there and so we made the decision to send her in the very next day. It was a close shave because mama dog delivered that very night she was admitted. Honestly, we never expected to receive the news we did the next day. We were probably expecting 5 puppies or max 6? Hold on to your seats guys, we now have TEN PUPPIES!!! We already have 22 dogs and we are trying our darnest best to get them rehomed and overnight we have just increased our numbers by 50%! OMG!

A very sweet mommy. We're not sure if this is her first litter but she definitely knows what to do with her puppies.

Mommy discharging from the vet after a week's stay

Going to her foster home

We think Mommy is one gorgeous Mama! Look at her mesmerizing eyes.

We were very fortunate to have found a foster temporarily (just for 1 month) to house mummy dog with her ten babies while she nurses them. This has given us some breathing space but not much. Puppies grow like balloons fed on helium, just look at Lilliput! Even while we worry about finding them good homes, we also start fretting with potential issues; what if people adopt cute puppies and decide to abandon or return them when they are no longer cute? We can’t look into the future and often when people want to adopt a dog / puppy from us, they promise us the world, but it may or may not turn out the way we expect it to.

We are declaring a state of emergency because there is no way we can afford to keep 11 dogs – mommy dog and her 10 puppies. So if you can help with the following, please email us.

1) Adopt a puppy in a month’s time (we won’t know if they will be HDB approved)

2) Adopt Mommy when she is done nursing

     3) Contribute to mommy vet bill during her stay in the maternity ward

     4) Help sponsor some dogs for sterilization, there are about 15 more to be sterilized

Email hopedogrescue@singnet.com.sg   

Looks Aren’t Everything

Let me tell you what I am not – cute, gorgeous, small and fit in a bag. Neither am I a “branded” dog. So based on all these, if I am put up for adoption, I wouldn’t stand a chance against any of those small, cute little fluffy dogs that people go goo-goo ga-ga about.

Sweet Cassie as she is today

However, let me tell you what I am; I was born a stray. I grew up in a deep forested area where every day was a struggle to survive, to stay safe and not be attacked by the stronger dogs, and if I could find food once in every 3 days, that would be a blessing. However, one day I did accidentally cross their paths and they attacked me viciously. Even though I ran and didn’t retaliate, they bit me ferociously, hoping to leave me dead.

Cassie when we rescued her 7 months ago, in August 2014

Finally I got away from them and hid in the forest for what felt like a week, praying hard that they wouldn’t know where I was or smell my blood and come for me again. My neck wound was so bad it literally ran full circle around my neck. Soon flies came and then it became maggot infested. The flesh around my neck was rotting and the maggots were feasting. I was thin as a skeleton by then, and tick infested.

After almost two weeks in hiding, I was so weak and hungry, I walked into a trap set by a dog trapper. They then sent me to the vet. You can read my initial rescue story here about how people stared at me at the vet, torn between feeling sorry for me and disgusted by the maggot stench I was giving out.

I stayed at the vet for almost two months before my wound was fully healed and I was discharged. Anyway, to cut the long story short, I was so timid and wary of people, I wouldn’t even eat if someone was in the same room as me. I was so scared that I leopard crawled my way around.

I was what you would call, a feral dog; I had no contact with humans whatsoever.

The Cassie we have today is happy, affectionate, lovable and easy going

After months of rehabilitation by volunteers and patient, understanding fosters, I am a changed dog. You could say, I’m a brand new dog! I have been through hell and back. I never let that nasty near death incident dampen my spirits. I never look back.

I'm not gorgeous, but I am extremely fun, goofy and grateful for what I have today

Today, I stand tall and proud. I am just barely a year old, but I am one amazing dog. I am goofy and fun-loving. Those who meet me only have good things to say about me. The most common comments I hear are, “this little girl is such a darling dog”, “this girl is so amazing”, “this girl has come such a long way”, “why this girl is so sweet and nobody wants to adopt”, and “we promise to find you a very good home with someone who really deserves you ok?”. So that about sums up what an amazing dog I am. I have the most lovely temperament anyone could ever ask for in a dog. I have never ever attempted to even bite a human or a dog, and I never will. It’s not in my nature to.

I am not good looking, I have a black mask, which some people dislike. I am tall and lanky, not small and fluffy, but what I am, nobody could come close to. I am sweet, pleasant, easy going, I can entertain myself with toys or sleep all day. I can run with you or bask in the sun while you read. I don’t need a garden, I am happy living in an apartment as long as you take me for two long walks a day. I can pee on newspapers, pee pads and grass, I am that good, considering I was a stray not too long ago.

Cassie standing tall and proud

I am not a fussy eater, I eat my greens, I even eat medication without kicking up a fuss. I can play like a mad puppy when you want me to, or I can laze around all day as well. You can open my mouth to check my teeth, force supplements down my throat, I allow that. I get along with children of all ages and sizes, I get on with dogs equally well. If they wish to play, we play. If they want their space, I am non-confrontational and I will just walk away. Now tell me where else would you ever be able to find such a terrific dog?

I used to leopard crawl because I had no confidence and was scared of humans. Now I stand tall and proud, walk so well on leash, I don’t tug, I can heel and sit, I even sit while waiting for the elevator to arrive. And all these I achieved in half a year. I do think I did pretty well! I would prefer to be adopted into a home with another dog, one as nice as me, so we can be the best of friends. But if I am the only dog, I will keep myself entertained. The only issue I still have, although it’s a lot better now, is that I am claustrophobic. Do not lock me in a room or toilet on my own, I will panic and go berserk. Leave me in your hall and allow me to auto-roam and I promise you your house will remain intact.

And now I believe after reading this, I will soon be in popular demand.

To ADOPT me, please email my rescuer at hopedogrescue@singnet.com.sg

I am a female local crossbreed, about 1 year old. I am fully vaccinated, microchipped, sterilized and in the pink of health! 

I am Cassie.

Milky Has A Home!

Milky grew up as a stray puppy, running dangerously on the streets and playing with the other adult street dogs. We spotted her one night on our regular feeding rounds. Read her story here.

My first encounter with Milky was at the veterinary clinic, where she had just undergone a surgery for her right eyelid. She had Entropion, a genetic disease of the eyelids in which the upper or lower eyelids roll inwards. Milky's right upper eyelid has grown inwards, causing her pain and discomfort, including swelling of her right eye. If left untreated Entropion can lead to corneal scarring, ulceration, erosion, rupture and eventually blindness. Fortunately, we found Milky in time and managed to prevent the unimaginable from happening.

Milky has since found a loving home and boy, are we happy for her! When we put up an appeal for Milky’s adoption on our Facebook page, we were disappointed that Milky only received one enquiry as puppies are usually in demand. However, this one family that enquired about Milky turned out to be the perfect family for her! The oft said ‘it is quality rather than quantity that matters’ is especially apt here.

Three months into Milky’s adoption, fellow volunteers Josephine (a kind lady who helped to foster Milky for a month before she got adopted and is currently fostering Elmo), Weiling and myself visited Milky to check how she was doing in her new found home. When Milky’s adopter, Mabelle, opened the door, we were pleasantly surprised to be greeted by a beautiful and graceful dog. Was this Milky? Where did the little puppy go to? She did not bark or growl as we entered the house. She was shy initially and observed us for a while but she soon warmed up to us after she recognised Josephine. Her tail started wagging frenetically and she showered us with plenty of licks. Mabelle's other dog, Fi Fi, was also bouncing around us and playing with Milky at the same time. You could see that the two dogs got along really well. Milky, despite being a puppy, was calm and unassuming.

It was an enjoyable night for us as we basked in the dogs' love (they really gave us many licks) and saw how well Milky fitted into the family. Mabelle's dad, mum and sister, Magdeline, have nothing but praises for Milky. They said that Milky did not give them any problem at all, not even chewing on things or furniture even though she was a puppy when they took her in. She is not fussy with food and eats whatever Mabelle's mum cooks for her. The resident dog, Fi Fi, even shares her bed with Milky and the two of them cuddle up with each other at bedtime. The entire family was all smiles when they talked about Milky, saying how lucky they were to have Milky enter their lives. They address Milky affectionately as Milk Milk. How sweet! Milky is really fortunate to have a family that genuinely cares for her.

We left Mabelle's place with warmth in our hearts. It is not always that we can find perfect homes for the dogs under our charge. In fact there will almost always be teething problems such as our dogs not getting along with the adopter's dog and/or children and the list goes on. We thank Milky’s lucky stars in the Milky way for letting Milky and this kind family meet. We hope that other dogs will be as lucky as Milky too. If you wish to experience the joy that Mabelle’s family has experienced with the addition of Milky to their lives and have the space and love in your home and heart for a fur baby in your home, please contact us at hopedogrescue@singnet.com.sg. Thank you!

Music CDs for sale

A 2013 Cochrane review concludes that:

“Music listening may have a beneficial effect on preoperative anxiety. These findings are consistent with the findings of three other Cochrane systematic reviews on the use of music interventions for anxiety reduction in medical patients. Therefore, we conclude that music interventions may provide a viable alternative to sedatives and anti-anxiety drugs for reducing preoperative anxiety.”

Bradt J, Dileo C, and Shim M. Music interventions for preoperative anxiety (Review), June 2013

Thinking of what to get for your furbaby for a treat or a special occasion?

We are currently retailing these Music CDs with music specially formulated for pets with the express purpose to reduce their stress and allow them to relax. A relaxed dog is a happy one so go on get one for your furbaby now and you can relax together!

All sales proceeds from the CDs will go towards Hope Dog Rescue. The funds will be utilized for the below activities:

1. Food distribution to factory caregivers : We supply food to 60 dogs every week and we need at least 50kg of kibbles.
2. Sterilization: We catch and sterilize strays to control the stray population on a weekly basis
3. Rescue and rehabilitation efforts: Rescue dogs who are in pain or require urgent medical attention, the bills incurred here are usually hefty and includes transportation charges and vet bills.
4. Maintenance and upkeep of existing dogs: We have more than 20 dogs and their long term maintenance costs includes vet bill, medication and food

Each CD costs S$35, inclusive of postage via Registered Mail. Buy all four at $130 inclusive of postage via Registered Mail.

To purchase the Music CDs for your pets, please email us with the following details :

Name :
Mailing Address (for CD delivery during office hours) :
CD Title you wish to purchase	Qty
Animal Angels
Animal Healing
Music for Pets
Anima Pura
Total number of CDs  :  Total amount  :
Payment mode :  DBS / POSB fund transfer or Cheque

We at HOPE thank you for your continued support and wish you all a happy and fulfilling 2015 with woofs and licks from the furry members of Hope Dog Rescue

What Is Happiness?

A suspected breeding dog was found roaming the streets in Pasir Ris 3 weeks ago. When she was found, she was tired, thirsty and hungry. Not just that, but she was extremely ill and in intense pain. She had no microchip and so the man who found her took her home temporarily.

Two weeks after taking her home, she stopped eating and had blood in her pee. He had thought she was in heat but things were not as simple. The poor Schnauzer was in such a serious state that had he not sent her to the vet, she may have lost her life. Despite not being able to afford the vet bills, he kindly sent her in, then he wrote to us for financial aid.

Obviously we are not in any position to provide financial assistance when we can hardly stay afloat, but it is our belief that dogs come to us for a reason. Somehow, they find us because they know we will never reject or give up on them. And so we agreed to help pay half of the vet bill and also took over the case.

Have you ever seen such a sad dog? 

We named her Hailey and transferred her to our regular vet.

When we first laid eyes on her, we noticed how bloated her stomach was, she looked pregnant. We also noticed that the lower part of her body is very muscular and her legs were rather bow-legged. Poor Hailey stood for the 2 hours that we were at the vet, not once sitting or lying down although we could see that she was visibly tired. Read on, we’ll tell you why.

Extremely bad teeth

Some teeth missing 

After a thorough check, with blood tests and ultrasound carried out, the vet discovered the following :

• ·       Her teeth were so rotten, it is likely that many will need to be extracted. She also has some teeth missing.
• ·       She was salivating very badly, signs of nausea
• ·       There is a mass in her uterus; this could be a cancerous mass or placenta that was not expelled during her pregnancy. It may have been left inside her body for so long and become so badly infected.
• ·       Enlarged spleen (which explained why she looked pregnant)
• ·       Enlarged kidney
• ·       She has kidney failure
• ·       Blood in pee could be caused by the uterus being infected
• ·       She is NOT a senior dog.
• ·       She is not sterilized.
• ·       She is not pregnant.

  

When Hailey’s eyes caught mine, this is what I saw :

• ·       Eyes that have never seen a day of happiness. Believe me when I say she doesn’t know what happiness is and has never had a happy day in her life. She is resigned to the fate that she is in.
• ·       She had lots of fear in her eyes, and this is probably the feeling that she has lived with the most. Breeders are known to be fierce and not exactly nice to their breeding stock.
• ·       Rotten teeth from having been fed a poor diet all her life, to save on costs
• ·       Muscles on the lower part of her body and bow legs that tell she has been caged all her life, in a tiny cage, standing on the painful metal grating. She could have been locked up in a small cage with many other breeding dogs, thus not having space to lie or even sit, which explains why her legs are bow legged and back muscular. 

Hailey is likely to be 3 to 5 years old only and for so much to be happening in that tiny body of hers at such a young age, one cannot even begin to imagine the pain and suffering she has endured as a puppy mill dog used for breeding and making money for the unscrupulous breeders, the abuse, the neglect and then discarded as trash when she became terribly ill and could no longer make them disgustingly rich.

Look at the fear and sadness in her eyes

She was admitted last Friday and was scheduled for a surgery today to remove the mass in her uterus and sterilization. This morning, the vet called and said Hailey has not eaten since she was warded, is still salivating badly from nausea, despite medicines given and her kidney readings are still bad despite treatment.

Bow-legged

In fact, poor Hailey had a seizure this morning. For a dog to go into seizure, her kidney issues would have been left untreated for months. . . . . The vet had to call off her surgery because of her renal failure. Her life is at risk. There is nothing much we can do except to pray that she starts responding to treatment.

Little Hailey has a tail! 

A tiny body that has been overworked, over used and abused

Hailey needs your help with her vet bills, and fostering, if she pulls through. It would be terribly sad if she passed on, not knowing what happiness means.

Did you buy a Schnauzer recently? Hailey could be your dog’s mother and you were a part of that cruelty.