A Deep Sense of Loss

Venus has been at the vet for two weeks now. After having gone through so much pain and suffering, she has almost nothing left in her. Having had a miscarriage, scabies and a hip dislocation, all within a short span of time, a deep sense of loss and hopelessness can be seen in her eyes as she spends her days staring blankly.

She has had a steady stream of visitors – readers of our blog, animal lovers, friends etc; either visiting her or stopping by to make a contribution to her vet bills. Her bills have accumulated to no small amount, but we are fortunate to be blessed by kindness and friends who believe in the work we do.

Venus' Bill on 30 Aug '10 at A&E

Venus' Bill from 31 Aug to 13 Sept 2010

Lynette and Maggie have been bringing Venus regular, healthy meals – Venus has a hearty appetite and eats like there is no tomorrow. Carey and Dawn, who work at Mt Pleasant (Redhill), have had to feed her smaller portions, in four meals throughout the day. If you visit Venus, you will notice her little stomach looking like a small watermelon!

The white bandage around her waist is used to hold some padded gauze on the left side of her hip. There are grazes she suffered in the accident and because she lies on one side all the time, the sore has not healed.

Look at her rounded belly!

She has yet to bear weight on her right hind leg, and needs to be carried out by Carey, to go for her walks. Once outside, she limps around and sniffs the air, perhaps wondering if this is a safer environment from where she came from. Venus likes Carey.  We think its because she came from the industrial estates where there were many male workers, so she is slightly more comfortable with men. Occasionally she growls, even with Carey, but when he assures her, she relaxes. She sometimes shows displeasure, especially when we touch the lower part of her body. This could be due to her pain and her fear that humans will hurt her further.

Apart from eating like every meal is her last, Venus spends her days just lying in her shower stall, the “isolation room”, overcome with grief and helplessness. She feels a great sense of loss and sadness. You see no life in her eyes. . . . she feels the loss of her babies and perhaps, the use of her limb.

Natasha, an animal massage therapist, read about Venus’ plight on our blog, and kindly wrote to us to volunteer to visit Venus and massage her limbs regularly. Today Venus had her second massage session. She growled and had to be muzzled. Carey was off duty, so Venus wasn’t as relaxed as we liked her to be. Natasha did deep muscle massage and worked on Venus for half an hour, with Dawn constantly assuring Venus. Venus’ muscles on the injured limb was cold, which wasn’t a very good sign and Natasha also needed to release the spasms in Venus’ other good leg because that leg has been overused.

Natasha and Dawn working on Venus

Receiving deep muscle massage

Trying to get Venus to stand

Venus’ surgery has to be delayed because of her scabies. Ideally, swimming / hydrotherapy would also benefit Venus, but again, that is not possible at this juncture. Sometime this week, Drs will do another skin scrape to see if her scabies is under control and if so, they would be able to perform a femoral head ostectomy. If the Drs feel that her muscles have wasted away, then they will have no choice but to perform an amputation, but we're praying this won't happen. Venus will be transferred to Sunset Way for Dr Simon Quek to operate on her. In the meantime, Natasha will massage Venus three times a week if her schedule permits, and hopes that the deep muscle massage will work miracles for Venus.

Looking a tad happier & contented

Receiving a treat after the session

Do stay tuned for more updates on Venus. She is likely to have to spend another few weeks at the Vet, after which we may have to make a tough decision of returning her to the factory if we can't find someone who will adopt her. Her scabies will no longer be an issue once she recovers from it. 

We would like to thank everyone for coming to our aid in helping Venus. We appreciate the kindness and generosity of all who have helped, contributed and visited. If you have not purchased a calendar, please do. Proceeds from the calendar sales will go towards Venus’ medical aid, as well as all the other animals whose lives we have touched. 

This song is for Venus and all who cared.