Chai 2.90

Remember the badly neglected Dachshund we picked up in Ang Mo Kio yesterday? He had been seen wandering the estate for a few days but no one stepped forward to help, and even complained about him being a nuisance. We picked him up and brought him to the vet, and have named the little guy Chai, meaning “life” in Hebrew. More on his background here. 

This was the photo sent to us by a member of the public

Despite obviously having been abused by humans, Chai remained trusting and allowed us to pick him up. As soon as we carried him, he snuggled so close to us, relieved and knowing that he was finally safe. As we used a towel to wrap and hold him, we were concerned that we would accidentally hurt him. He body was so frail, just skin and bones, we held him gingerly, afraid that our touch may cause him pain. He reminded us so much of Prince. As we waiting for our turn, he lay down, exhausted and weak from his past torture. He could hardly keep his eyes open and focused.

We rushed down to pick him up

At the vet when we weighed him, he was a mere 2.9kg, less than half of what he should be. Chai is estimated to be only about 3 years old. He is currently warded and put on drip to stabilize his condition. His blood count is 16, less than half of what the normal count should be. If it drops lower to 11, he will need to undergo a blood transfusion. The vet will do what they can to raise his blood count overnight and do another blood test tomorrow. Just in case, we need a blood donor dog on standby. His gums were terribly pale, almost white, probably due to the low blood count and malnourishment, or something else that the vet has not picked up yet. The vet has scheduled an abdomen ultrasound on Thursday, just to make sure there is no foreign body or mass in his abdomen. His bad diet or lack of it, has also resulted in a set of bad teeth. His fecal tests came back positive for amoeba and his liver count is a tad high. He has been starved for so long that his stomach has shrunken. As we carried him in our arms, we could hear his stomach rumbling pretty loudly and felt so sorry for him. For now, he can only be fed about a third of a portion of his normal meal. His portion size will then be gradually increased over the next few weeks to a normal serving in order to allow his body to get used to it. He also had some pretty deep sores on his hind area which appeared to be caused by sitting in a small cage for a very long period of time with no room for movement and because he is just skin and bones, his sores are very bad as he has nothing to cushion his hind area.

A bag of bones

Dirty ears

Terribly exhausted and weak

Another huge sore on Chai

Thankfully, there were no maggots in the wound. His neglect is also clearly evident in his long nails and matted fur, both signs that he has not been groomed in a while. His paw pads are very soft, more signs which point to him never been taken out for proper walks. Some good news though, he tested negative for tick fever and heartworm. Other than the physical signs of malnourishment and neglect, Chai is otherwise healthy.

Deep, weepy sore on his left rump

Weak and almost fainting

Despite all this, Chai is very affectionate, and craves love and attention. When we reach out to pat him, his tail goes off like a propeller. So happy is he to receive any sort of affection. 

For now, our immediate plan is simply to bring him back to health, and then perhaps 1 or 2 months down the road, find a family to love him forever. 

Chai is in such a sorry state, we can’t even begin to imagine how his owner could do this to him, to lock him in a small cage and starve him for a very long period of time. He is expected to stay at the vet for at least a week and we are requesting for help with his vet bills, for a blood donor dog if a blood transfusion is required and also a foster that can feed him 4 to 5 small meals day. If you can help with any of the above, email hopedogrescue@singnet.com.sg. 

Written by: Sam