Sorry Hugo

This puppy with a head wound was first spotted on 1 April 2015 by a feeder. Our volunteers immediately agreed to help and we took turns going down every evening after work, braving lots of sandflies and mosquito bites to search for him. Despite not seeing him, we never gave up. We combed the area every night.

Just 2 weeks was all it took for the maggots to kill Hugo

He was last spotted 4 nights ago and we were very close to him but a group of cyclist sped past loudly and scared him back into the densely forested area. We continued searching the next few nights, right up to this evening but we never caught sight of him.

At 11pm we received a call from a member of the public who happened to see this young dog. The dog, who is about 7 to 8 months old only, was lying on the grass, very weak; he was dying. The stench of rotting flesh filled the air and we asked the passer by to keep an eye on the dog while we swung into action. 4 volunteers rushed down at 11.30pm and with the help of a dog trapper, we managed to catch him.

Half of his face was eaten by maggots

We rushed him to the emergency vet and in a brightly lit area, it hit us, the extent of his injury was bad. His left eye was gone, part of his head was eaten by maggots and he could no longer open his right eye. The pain must have been so bad. He had endured and suffered for at least 2 weeks. Blood dripped on the floor and maggots crawled on his wound. We felt nauseous from the sight and smell. This, by far, is the worst maggot wound case we have seen. Four nights ago when we spotted him, it wasn’t this bad. But now . . . .the maggots must have thrived in the hot weather because they had destroyed his eye and part of his head. There was nothing much we could do except to let him go. He had suffered enough . . . .two long weeks. We guess he must have been stuck in the forested area and not been able to find his way out because he could no longer see, which is why perhaps we had not spotted him the past few nights. It was a good thing he came out tonight . . . rather than die a slow death in the dense forestation.

Farewell Hugo, may peace be with you

We said a silent prayer for this young, handsome puppy, whom we named Hugo, as the vet injected euthanasia into his vein. I write this with a heavy heart; how sad a stray’s life is.

We will hold a private cremation for Hugo on Friday. His vet bill for the night, inclusive of the cremation, is $998/-. If you would like to help with Hugo’s bill, please email hopedogrescue@singnet.com.sg

Rest in peace, little Hugo. We’re sorry we couldn’t find you earlier and save you.

At 2.40am, sleep is the furthest from my mind.