Puppy Rover (Adopt Him?)

Handsome puppy Rover is available for adoption

Rover, our youngest little charge at only 4.5 months, is only a baby but he is also one of the cheekiest boys we've ever had. He has topped the list of exploits by all our rescues by doing the unimaginable last night.

He ate a sock.

He went into the toilet at his foster’s home and stole a sock from the laundry basket. You might be thinking, "Well he is quite innovative to find himself a new toy after getting bored with the ones he had!" He probably thought the same, and decided to play tag with his foster when she ran after him to retrieve the sock. When he realised that he was going to get caught, he decided to swallow his "new toy". He didn’t even bother to chew.

We cannot fathom what was going on in his brain at that moment. He seemed very pleased with himself, and might even have been congratulating himself on how clever he was to eat the sock so it couldn't be taken away from him. But trust me, it threw ALL OF US into a frenzy. We have NEVER had a dog swallow a sock before, and we were speechless and at a loss for several minutes. Over the years, we have had several thieves in our midst who stole everything, from food to toys to even towels, but NONE had ever attempted to eat a SOCK! It wasn't like with other dogs, who simply loved to gnaw and chew on socks and shoes. Rover swallowed the entire thing whole!

Second X-ray showing the sock in Rover's stomach (sock did not show up in the first x-ray, possibly surrounded by too much food)

Rover was rushed to the emergency clinic immediately by his foster at 11pm, and they were stuck there till way after midnight. An X-ray was taken and guess what, the vet couldn’t find the sock amidst the huge amount of food in his stomach! Obviously his foster had been feeding him very well, and it was definitely not hunger that motivated Rover to eat the sock! Anyhow, he was sent back to the clinic this morning and a second X-ray was taken. This time, the sock showed up clearly, and it was removed immediately via an endoscopy. Other than a slightly irritated stomach, Rover is in good health and is ready to go home later today.

Although we can all heave a sigh of relief and start laughing at the silly antics of this little boy, bills still have to be paid. Emergencies don’t come cheap, but we dared not risk Rover's life to save a few dollars. We need your help with our outstanding bills with so many vet visits recently. In fact, Babu will be going for his vet review today, and a possible follow-up surgery to remove a pin which is keeping his fracture in place but causing him great discomfort. 

Cute Rover at the vet

If you would like to pitch in and help pay the bill for this very silly boy, please email hopedogrescue@singnet.com.sg. Rover woofs his thanks and promises somberly not to eat any more socks and we are not looking forward to his next misadventure.