Melody the Matriarch of Noah's Ark

The essential joy of being with horses is that it brings us in contact with the rare elements of 
grace, beauty, spirit, and fire.

- Sharon Ralls Lemon

Photos by Lynda

Rosie: "What have I done wrong to deserve this treatment?"

On 18 March 2013, Rosie was abandoned in Johor, Malaysia with an open wound under her arm which could fit a golf ball and another wound on her elbow. In order for the wounds to heal, the vet had to stitch it.

The wound under Rosie's

 arm could fit a golf ball.

How did this happen to her? A small cut that became a big hole which was left untreated for days?  Could you feel the pain that she had to endure for so many days?  

What happened if it was you? What would you have done? Seek medical treatment off course.  But for a dog, the convenient way is to dispose it on the streets waiting for a kind soul to pick her up or either a slow death. 

People are treating dogs like garbage, when they are God’s creatures great and small - they should be treated with respect. 

When Rosie arrived at Noah’s Ark clinic, looking at her eyes, you could feel the pain and sadness in her.



The wound on her elbow
had to be stitched.



In her mind, she wonders “What have I done wrong to deserve this? Why did my owner throw me out off the house? Why me? When you had me, you found me cute and adorable, now you don’t want me anymore? Why? Tell me why?”

You could see in Rosie’s eyes that she has given up hope filled with hurt and sadness  – but there is hope at Noah’s Ark.  We are here to change that emotion on her and we want to see a happy dog again. We estimate Rosie to be about 3 years old.

   


Rosie requires dental
treatment when she recovers.

 Rosie is currently receiving medical treatment at our clinic.  Noah’s Ark has an equipped clinic that provides medical care for the many animals at the sanctuary.

We also provide low cost sterilization in Singapore, Johor and Muar for street cats and dogs, each month we sterilized close to 120 animals. Sterilization is the only solution to prevent unwanted kittens and puppies from entering into this world.

To support our work for the animals at the sanctuary in Singapore and Malaysia please visit  www.noahsarkcares.blogspot.com to contribute. Your contribution will help us to help the animals. Thank you.

Would you like to be Rosie's God Ma?
If you can sign up for Noah's Ark Pet Sponsorship For S$50 a month
which will go towards her upkeep at the sanctuary.

To sponsor Rosie, please email to noahsarkcares@gmail.com

Big Ben's Story

Hi! Its me, Big Ben.

I wanted to show you some photos of me when I first arrived at Noah's Ark.

Top left: See how miserable my face was, I was in so much pain and it was so difficult for me to pee - until Uncle Raymund found out that I was peeing blood. And the following day, Uncle Raymund took me to the vet to be examined and discovered that I had stones in my bladder and an operation was scheduled as soon as possible to have it removed.

Top right: That's me at a foster's house. The first day when someone found me at the car park under the hot sun. You can never imagine how someone so cruel and could do that to me right? Its so common among pet owners to give up their pets when it fall sick. Its cheaper to get another NEW dog than to provide medical care for an OLD dog that brought joy and was part of the family.

Bottom right: The picture was taken during my surgery. The vets were stunned to find so many stones in me. In the operating room, I could hear one stone after another stone piling up. Now you understand the discomfort I was going through all these months with my previous owner.

Bottom left: That is Happy Big Ben - see my smiley face?
I recovered well and the caregivers at Noah's Ark have been taking good care of me at the clinic.

I am slowly gaining weight and soon I will look like a model for Hush Puppies :)

Lots of love of licks.
Big Ben

Bassett Hound abanoned at a carpark

Hi, my name is Big Ben.

I recovered under the care of my caregiver, Raymund, and I am thankful he took me in and saved my life. Without him, I will not be running and playing with my friends at Noah's Ark.

I was abandoned at a car park in ...Malacca and my cruel owner expect me to find my way around. Just because she refused to have me treated for the stones in my bladder she conveniently dumped me on the streets.

I wonder how could she ever live with the guilt. Well, that's the past and we all have to move on. I was given a second chance and I am grateful for being alive today.

If you visit the sanctuary - remember to come and say hi to me.

Do you want to be my God Ma or God Pa and sponsor my stay at Noah's Ark for S$50 a month pls email to noahsarkcares@gmail.com

I am looking forward to having a God Parent.

Lots of love and licks
Big Ben

The Ark Has Landed

Dear Friends and Supporters of Zeus

In July 2012, I had to decide whether it made sense to retain the dogs at the shelter in Singapore or whether it would be much better for them to move to Johor.  

Whilst, it had been nice to have a shelter in Singapore as it was closer to home and therefore more accessible to both visitors and volunteers – the high operating costs that continued to rise due to inflation did not make sense. After every fund raising effort, most of the funds had to be used to cover rental, pet food, medical and operational costs with not much left for our rescue work.

As most of the dogs at the shelter were rescued by individual rescuers, I extended to them, the invitation to join me on the journey to Noah’s Ark.

After giving them time to consider, some decided to stay in Singapore and they are still trying to find a home for their rescued dogs.  Please note that Zeus Communications did not leave any dogs behind, except for the following dogs, *Mei Mei, Xiao Hei, Nokia, Jelly Bean and Big Bobby as these are the dogs that the volunteers requested custody of, feeling strongly that these dogs stood a high chance of being adopted.




Big Bobby - the sweetest and easy going Dude.



 



Xiao Hei



Nokia and Jelly Bean and sisters. The siblings are very close and they will stand by each other.



Mei Mei has been staying at the shelter for almost 3 years.
Every dog would love to have their forever home, we hope that someone will grant them
their Christmas wish.

*Note:
Mei Mei, Xiao Hei, Nokia, Jelly Bean and Big Bobby were rescued from the neighboring shelter at Ericsson Pet Farm, when the tenant could no longer afford to maintain her shelter and decided to call it quits.  If however these dogs do not find a forever home in time – I believe they will always be welcomed at Noah’s Ark where they will get freedom to run free and to be just a dog.

Two months have since passed and the dogs: Tiger, Lady, Emerald, Crystal, Friday and Angel have settled in well at Noah’s Ark.  If you can recall, Tiger –  when he left Singapore he weighed 35 kg, grossly overweight for a medium cross breed dog.  All that additional weight had taken a toll on his limbs.  Today, Tiger is getting all the TLC (tender loving care) and special treatment from Raymund – and he is staying near the clinic which had just been renovated.  But even better news!  Tiger has slimmed down and he is now able to run around with ease (he can even do the bunny hop now)  – I feel so happy for him as he is now able to lead a better life than to just lay down and sleep the entire day away .

From left: Friday, Tiger and Crystal.
Tiger no longer spends his days laying down - he is now walking about and playing with new friends.
As for Crystal, she now has her full coat and her skin problem has recovered,
she must be sun tanning at The Ark.

Visit to Noah's Ark by Rosina

Rosina giving Wayne,
 a Border Collie all the attention.

In September, Rosina was in town to teach Animal Communications.  Every time, when she has a rest day, she will take the opportunity to visit Noah's Ark.  Rosina has a special love for white horses and she will stop to visit Melody, the white pony who is almost 30 years old this year and still looks good for her age.  I wonder what is her secret to staying youthful.

After visiting the horses, Rosina will visit Jasmine, a cross breed who is the resident dog at the Wisma (the cat house).  Jasmine stays and gets along with 100 cats at the Wisma – All those who say dogs can't get along with the cats – Jasmine has proven all of them wrong! And she is not the only special dog.  I just found out that Max a Cross Rottie also gets along with the cats at the Wisma too - well done Max!

By the way, Jasmine appeared on the front cover of Noah's Ark 2013 Calendar a tribute to a loving nature - we are so excited that she has made it to the front page.

During Rosina’s visit to  the Wisma as she sits on the floor, about 20 cats will queue and take their turn to sit next to her – a really amazing sight, it is as if they are queuing to  see a doctor.  What was even nicer to know is that  they had no complaints - they are contented and looking forward to Rosina’s next visit in April 2013.


Before we left Noah's Ark, Rosina presented a gift to Raymund, a hand carved replica of Noah’s Ark, it felt like a home coming.  She had bought the Ark from a Catholic church in Hong Kong and personally  hand carried it to Singapore.  The Ark was assembled in Singapore by Clement and myself. 



Rosina presenting The Gift of Ark to Raymund
From left: Clement, Lynda, Angeline, Raymund, Rosina, Choo Yan and Yew Seng.

 

Bronze and Cycle checking out the Ark.



The Ark sailed from Hong Kong to Singapore to be assembled before it finally “sailed” to Noah's Ark in Johor to its final destination.  And few weeks later – our dogs from Singapore arrived and made Noah’s Ark their home.

Mr Teo, 71 yrs old held two jobs to save Bobby Brown

 

Rescue work never ends here,and we do what we can within our limited resources.

A month ago, I received a call from a boarding house asking me if I could help Mr Teo, a 71 year old man who was ill and had been in and out of hospital a few times with respiratory problems. When I received the call that same week, Mr Teo had just called the boarding house asking them to send his dog Bobby to SPCA because Mr Teo wasn’t sure if he was going to recover – uncertain of his own health and if he would be able to work to upkeep Bobby.

I went to visit Bobby that same week, to check on his temperament and when I saw him there was sadness in his eyes because he knew that he was on death row.

To Mr Teo who has not had much formal education, SPCA was the alternative he knew for animal welfare issues so I decided to visit Mr Teo to find out more details about himself and his dog to see how we could assist him.  I felt that even though Mr Teo's health may be failing we would like to see what we could do to help Bobby have an alternative life even without Mr Teo’s upkeep of him.

I was told that Mr Teo rescued Bobby 5 years ago after the construction of the condo at Clementi was completed, feeling sorry for Bobby Mr Teo took the dog and housed it at a boarding house.  Mr Teo held 2 jobs to upkeep Bobby at the kennel, but with  Mr Teo's advanced age and ill  health he is aware that his days maybe numbered.

As such, we feel that the least we can do for both of them is take care of Bobby so that Mr Teo will no longer have to worry about Bobby’s welfare and need only concentrate on getting better.

With the support from Noah’s Ark, we took Bobby to the vet for a check-up and discovered that he had heartworm.  Bobby is now receiving treatment at Mount Pleasant (Bedok). To date, he has received 3 treatments and in a month’s time – Dr Chan will do another test in mid December to check if he has been cleared of heartworm.  After Bobby has recovered sufficiently , we will arrange to have him sterilized.

Bobby was unsure
of his fate when his
caregiver fell sick.

Sponsorship of Medical Aid for Bobby
The vet estimates Bobby’s vet bill to be about $800 , if you would like to support his medical costs, please write a cheque to Mount Pleasant Animal Medical Centre (Bedok) Pte Ltd and mail to: Noah’s Ark CARES, 42 Cairnhill Road #02-01 Singapore 229661.  Please indicate on the back of the cheque that it is to be used for "Bobby Brown".

Sponsorship of Bobby Brown Boarding
If you wish to help Mr Teo with Bobby’s boarding fees which is $374.50 a month please write a cheque to Noah’s Ark CARES or you can arrange a fund transfer.  Mr Teo has been unable to pay for Bobby's boarding fees for the last 3 months since he fell ill.

 

For more details about Bobby Brown please email to dogstalk@starhub.net.sg

Cookie, The Cocker Spaniel

Cookie was abandoned by a father and son 2 years ago but had been rescued by Yi Hao, a student who knew about Cookie's plight.  As such, Cookie has a behaviourial issue through no fault of his own. Sadly, these behaviourial issues are the result of owner’s bad treatment but with the pet suffering the aftermath.

One of the problems was that the family used to tease Cookie whilst he was sleeping by poking him and when they fed him, the children would try to annoy him by taking his food away. As a result  Cookie tends to display very aggravated and agitated behaviour  whenever he sleeps and eats.  A not too surprising outcome.

Suddenly, last week, Cookie lost his sight and we immediately sent him to the vet on Saturday afternoon to investigate. Dr Chan was worried that Cookie might be diabetic and therefore it was necessary to do a comprehensive blood test on him.

When the blood tests results were out – we have happy to hear that his kidney and liver blood counts were normal, both heartworm and tick fever were negative – but to our horror his red and white blood cells count were way below the normal count. His bone marrow is not producing enough red and white blood cells. 

Update on Cookie

On Monday, 26 Nov morning Cookie was rushed to Mount Pleasant (Redhill) and he had to be hospitalised because his left eye was bleeding.

A full comprehensive test was done again and we discovered that Cookie had tick fever.  We started to contact friends to look for a blood donor that was positive blood type and we were thankful to Ms Leng for allowing her Cross Breed who is also named Cookie to donate his blood.

The blood transfusion took place on Tuesday morning and Cookie is recovering well.  When Cookie's blood count is stablise, Dr Heng will attend to his eye. We will update on Cookie's progress when we get more details from the vet.

Yi Hao is a student and he is doing his best to provide for Cookie, please see if you can find it in you to support Cookie’s medical aid which is now estimated to be $1,000.

Yi Hao would be most grateful. If you do wish to support this,  please write a cheque to Mount Pleasant Animal Medical Centre (Redhill) Pte Ltd and mail to: Noah’s Ark CARES, 42 Cairnhill Road #02-01 Singapore 229661.  Please indicate on the back of the cheque that it is to be used for "Cookie".

AVA Road Show 2012 with Noah’s Ark

 

Lawrence giving Happy (a Beagle) a Reiki treatment



For the first time, a group of Animal Communicators and Reiki Practitioners were at the AVA Road Show to help raise funds for Noah’s Ark.  We met new friends and we were happy to share and explain to them their animals’ feelings and emotions. The main concern pet owners had were the well being of their pets.

At the same time – we took the opportunity to educate first time pet owners on the importance of:

a) Micro Chipping – on how to register with Pet Call and AVA

b) Sterilisation

c) Raising a Puppy for the first time



Jacky and Tina - the Brindles
made a Special Appearance at the AVA Road Show

Jacky our Animal Comm. Mascot was a hot favourite at Noah’s Ark Booth, many visitors stopped to say "Hi", patted and took pictures of him.  We think he is just as popular as Jacky Chan but definitely a much younger and more handsome canine version J.

For the team, the roadshow was a great way to network and to spend quality time with the dogs at the show.

Lost & Found

Dazzle is now safe at home

Dazzle, a young puppy was missing from her home on 27 Oct, during that time, together with her rescuer and fosterer,  Angie and Clement our Animal Communicator tried to help find Dazzle.  The team was so committed that they searched for her everyday regardless of the weather despite the mailrain. The worst thing was that Dazzle was lost at Punggol Park Connector  - which is extremely challenging as there are no distinctive land marks with everything looked very much the same. One week before the newspaper article appeared, Dazzle was picked up by someone and a friend read the article and recognised Dazzle to inform his friend to return the the dog to its owners.  Dazzle was finally reunited with her mummy on 19 Nov.  We are so glad that a kind soul did the right thing by picking her up and taking care of her.

We do hope that they are more people like them who will help lost pets reunite with their owners.

Ms Winnie decided to go for a walk to get some peace

On 13 Nov, I received a call from Ruth that someone found a standard Poodle in Bukit Batok – thankfully the caller did the right thing by stopping to take the dog home so that we can find its owner.  The dog did not have an micro chip, but we knew it had an owner and we did all we could to find her owner back. Winnie’s owner pasted posters in her estate and residents who saw FB alerted the owner that the dog was with the finder.  We are very thankful that we were able to locate its owner in less than 24 hours and Winnie was reunited with her family the following day.

Buddy who went for an adventure

On 19 November, we received a call from Leonard, a medical student based at SGH, that he had found a Cocker Spaniel at Outram Road at about 5pm., He then called us for assistance to help him locate the dog's owner. With the help of Facebook we managed to retrieve some information about what had happened  Buddy earlier and how he ended up walking along Havelock Road and then Outram Roadf. Luckily with the help of SPCA we managed to locate Buddy's owner on Tuesday morning.

During his escapade, Buddy almost got knocked by a car because he wasnt very street smart but we are so thankful that nothing happened to Buddy.

Buddy finally went home on Wednesday evening and received a rousing welcome from all his relatives who came over just to wish him well

We would like to thank Leonard for doing a good deed by stopping to help Buddy and Lina for helping to house him for 2 days.

The importance of micro chipping and licensingOwners, micro chipping is a means to  identify your pet and you need to register it with Pet Call and have your dog licensed with AVA.  In the event that we find a lost dog, we are able to trace its owners should it possess a microchip .  For more details about micro chipping please visit Pet Call  and AVA for licensing.

Animal Communication Workshops
Rosina will be back in April 2013 to teach Animal Communication in Singapore and July 2013 in Malaysia.

What is exciting for us in 2013, Rosina will be leading a group of volunteers from Singapore to help at the Elephant Sanctuary in Chiangmai. The trip will take place in April - programme and details will be available soon, if you are keen to join us, send us an email and we will be in touch with you.

Jasmine putting her paw on a cat and giving comfort.

A Big Thank You

I would like to say a Big Thank You to our supporters and friends for purchasing Noah’s Ark 2013 calendars.  Your support will help towards the purchase of food and medical for the following residence at Noah’s Ark: 

(a)  600 Dogs
(b)  400 Cats
(c)  Melody, Apache, Whatsmore and Bloomerlake (the 4 horses)
(d)  Latte and Starbucks (Marques)
(e)  Huggy Boy (Gibbon)
(f)   Rabbits

I will be here to continue my work for the animal kingdom and 2013 is going to be a fun year for all of us.

Once again, thank you for your support and contribution towards my work for the animals.
Best wishes and season’s greetings.



The Zeus Times - April 2012

Dear Friends of Zeus

Three months have passed and we will be celebrating Easter this Sunday. 

Time really files when you are focused in the rescue of dogs that need your help.  Together with the volunteers, we have put our positive energy to rescue and help these dogs within our abilities and resources. 

We at Zeus Comm. are very grateful to the team of volunteers who have dedicated their time and effort to help on this on-going cause.  Without the generosity and care from our supporters and sponsors, we would not have been able to continue our work in rescuing and rehoming of abandoned, abused and breeding dogs.  

Volunteers

We have also been attracting and recruiting young volunteers from CHIJ St. Nicholas Girls School (Secondary), Methodist Girls School, Singapore Chinese Girls School and Coral Secondary School to name a few. 

When these 15 yr old volunteers first arrived at the shelter, they were overwhelmed with fear as they never expected to see so many dogs roaming free – most of the volunteers are non dog owners and we are so touched to see our youths having so much love to give to the animals. 

We must thank Rover and Rosie, a pair of rescued Golden Retriever for giving them confidence to work with the other dogs.  Please visit students' experiences to find out more about their work with the dogs.

Rosina with Kiki a rescued Chihuahua.

Animal Communicator

We are very excited that our Animal Communicator, Rosina Arquati was in town since Friday, 23 March to teach animal communication to our participants. This will be her fourth year in Singapore teaching animal communication.

Lunch with Your Dogs on Friday, 6 April

We are also hosting Zeus Doggy Lunch for your dogs to meet Rosina on Friday, 6 April from 12:30pm to 2:30pm – if you have not signed up, you may register with us at dogstalk@starhub.net.sg  Please visit doggy lunch for more details.  The funds raised from the luncheon will go towards the upkeep of the 45 dogs at Zeus Residence.

After Rosina’s visit in Singapore, she will be going to Penang to share with our animal loving friends about Animal Communication – the event is organized by SPCA Penang.  If you have friends in Penang and they want to know what Animal Communication is all about, please inform them to attend the tea party on Saturday, 7 April at 3pm at Tenby School, 3 Lintang Lembah Permail, Tanjung Bungah.

Dog Whisperer Free Pet Shop by National Geographic Channel

We would like to thank all dog lovers for informing their friends and for visiting the Dog Whisperer Free Pet Shop by National Geographic Channel.  With your support, many dogs from Noah’s Ark CARES, Animal Lovers League, Action for Singapore Dogs, Gentle Paws and Zeus Comm. have found their forever homes. 

Noah’s Ark CARES has kindly allowed our dogs from Zeus to be part of the event.  We are so happy to inform you that 14 dogs have found home through the awareness raised by National Geographic Channel.  During the event the team of volunteers helped to educate and raise awareness to potential dog owners to adopt instead of buying.

We are very pleased to see more people being aware of the importance of adopting vs buying especially after the publicity of the Pasir Ris Breeding Farm in April 2010.  People are more compassionate when they understand what goes on behind these breeding farms and the abuse and neglect by the breeders to these poor dogs that live in small cages in the worst environment possible.  These dogs are eventually abandoned or put down once they are of no value to the breeders.

We are very thankful and grateful to their owners for giving the dogs a second chance and for opening up their hearts and homes for them.

Rescued

During the Chinese New Year weekend, we received a call from a security guard in Tuas informing us that a dog (Blackie) was attacked and badly injured. 

It was dark, at first we thought that Blackie was abused by humans and as we look closer at his wounds Blackie was attacked by a pack of stray dogs.  He had several punctured wounds on his face and almost lost his eye. 

It took us about an hour to catch Blackie in order to bring him to the vet for treatment.  He struggled when we managed to loop the leash round his neck and he almost chewed the leash off.  Arther quickly covered Blackie’s face with a bath towel in order to carry him into the van. 

When we arrived at the vet, we were faced with the challenge of getting him out of the van and ensuring that he did not escape.  Surprisingly he was well behaved when we put the leash around him and Arther carried him into the hospital.

Blackie was very frightened like most dogs are at the vet. The vet had to sedate him so that we could do the necessary tests to ensure that his bones were not fractured, because he was not able to put his hind down.  We were worried that he might be hit by a car, to be save we did an x-ray on his hind legs.

After being at the vet for about 2 hours, we were elated when the vet informed us he was not in danger – all he needed was a good rest and his wounds cleaned regularly.  Blackie’s wound healed in a week!

When Blackie was healed, he told us he wanted to stay at Zeus Residence and didn’t want to go back to the streets.  If you would like to sponsor Blackie’s stay at Zeus Residence, please write into dogstalk@starhub.net.sg

Thank you.



What is Pain?

By Lynda Goh

WARNING: Certain photographs / videos present in this post may cause some readers to feel uneasy.

What exactly is pain?

How do you describe your pain and get relief from pain?

The feeling of physical pain is generally described as an unpleasant sensation or distressing experience of being aware of harm to the body. Humans experience pain in a variety of ways and from a variety of causes, but most commonly we experience pain that is related to injury or illness.

Pain is normally a symptom of an illness or an injury and is the body’s alarm system signaling that something is wrong.  Pain can be an unpleasant sensation ranging from mild localised discomfort to agony. It gets your attention, signals that you are in danger and has an essential survival value. Pain can serve as a protective warning of potential damage, can promote learning (hot surface, harmful) or can set limits on activities, which encourages resting.



Xiao Hei went through so much pain and he behaved as though nothing had happened.

We have all gone through different kinds of pain - when we fell as kids while running or playing catch and chasing our friends around the playground, and as adults we go through pain either from physical injury or emotional pain.

If we can feel the pain that hurts us so much – how would a dog feel? 

Can they tell you the pain that they went through when they encounter a dog fight and start to bleed?  Can they tell that they are unwell and feeling discomfort?  They can – if you can feel their emotions.




Xiao Hei was attacked by some dogs.

Sunday, 4 September

If you put yourself in Xiao Hei’s position – can you imagine the amount of pain he went through?  Xiao Hei was in so much pain and not once he has ever complained.  When a pack of dogs attacked him on 4 September 2011 morning, he was bleeding so badly till part of his flesh wound came off. Jacqueline, a volunteer with a shelter next door to Zeus Residence ran to me and asked for help.  Immediately, I rushed to their kennels to see what had happened to the poor dog. 

To my horror, I felt so much pain from Xiao Hei and he just sat quietly at the corner, as though nothing had happened.  I was so cross that I asked the caregiver why the wound had not  been cleaned and attended to – and she said to me in Mandarin “the wound will heal by itself”.  I could not believe the silly reply that she gave me and we immediately cleaned Xiao Hei’s wound and applied basic first aid on him. 

While cleaning Xiao Hei’s wound, I discovered several scars on him which were caused by dog fights. Xiao Hei was like an abused child being beaten by his parents continuously.  I told myself that the hurt and suffering has to end for this poor dog – and that he will no longer have to live in fear. 

Close up of Xiao Hei's wound.

Feeling sorry for Xiao Hei, we took him over to Zeus Residence to nurse him and the next morning, our volunteer Hilda took Xiao Hei to the vet at Bedok to ensure that the wounds were not infected. The vet cleaned the wounds up and he went home with antibiotics.

Saturday, 10 Sept

When I visited Xiao Hei on Saturday afternoon, his wound was healing very well but to my greatest horror – I found out that Xiao Hei’s anus was bleeding and part of it was sticking out.  Immediately, we tried to clean the wound to stop the bleeding and to make him comfortable.  As I was cleaning his wound, I felt so upset that Xiao Hei has gone through so much pain and suffering. 

Xiao Hei was back at the vet again to see Dr Ang at Redhill who was on duty on Sunday.  The vet did several blood tests to check whether Xiao Hei could go under GA – when the results were out – we were saddened to hear that Xiao Hei had tick fever and heartworm. No way he could go under GA – he would never make it.  Dr Ang tried her best to push the rectum back with mild sedation and continued to monitor Xiao Hei.

When asked what was the cause for his anus to stick out – it seems that Xiao Hei had frequent diarrhea and he was using his muscles to push so often that it affected his anus.

Monday, 12 Sept

On Monday evening, Dr Ang called to say that Xiao Hei’s was losing blood and becoming weak. Hence, we needed to have a blood donor on standby the next morning for him. 

Blood Donors
Friends helped to broadcast for blood donors through Facebook and SMSes. You must be asking me this question now “I thought you have a data base of blood donors – what happened?” to be honest, it is still difficult to get owners to come forward to pre-register their dogs as a blood donor and some have donated before and they cannot donate so soon.  My vision for the future - I hope to raise a pool of dogs that are able to donate blood To Help Save Lives.

Not once has Xiao Hei ever complained, whined or growled at us despite all his pain. He never struggled whenever we cleaned his wound; he just stood still and allowed you to do anything on him. He is a real darling who went through so much pain.

Tuesday, 13 Sept

In the evening, we managed to find a Husky to donate his blood to Xiao Hei. Unfortunately, its blood type did not match.

And the search for another blood donor continued.

Wednesday, 14 September

It was late afternoon when we managed to find Dougie, a Golden Retriever to donate blood. However, it was getting late and it was not possible to get the transfusion done in the evening and we have to wait for the next morning to find out if there was a match.

Dr Teo called me in the evening to say that Xiao Hei had not been eating for the last 2 days and that his immune system was going down. Dr Teo wanted to prepare me that Xiao Hei may not make it through the night. 

Saddened by the phone call, I knew that in Xiao Hei’s heart that he wanted to live and that he was not ready to go.  I communicated with Xiao Hei and told him to be strong – I stayed focused and kept telling myself that I want to see him get well and see him play with the dogs at the shelter. He deserved this chance to be alive again!

Thursday, 15 Sept

At 10.00 am, Hilda made her way to Jalan Kayu to fetch Dougie but on the way to the vet, they were caught in a bad traffic, Dr Ang called to ask whether the donor was on the way.

Immediately when Dougie arrived, we did the necessary blood tests and at 1pm – I was delighted to hear that their blood cross matched and the transfusion was going to take place.  Such news brought joy and tears, knowing that Xiao Hei was going to get his second chance to live again.

It was 4.00 pm – Xiao Hei received about 300ml of blood from Dougie and he was in stable condition.  I visited Xiao Hei after work and Dr Ang told me that Xiao Hei had started to eat again.

Before I left, I gave Xiao Hei reiki till he fell asleep and also to reduce the swell on his legs which occurred due to water retention.  When I left the clinic, Xiao Hei was fast asleep.  Reiki helps to calm your mind and puts you at ease and helps you to rest well.

Xiao Hei was given the freedom to move around the clinic.

Black Magic?
Xiao Hei’s caregiver (we shall not name her but some of you will know who she is) told me that Xiao Hei was possessed by black magic, which sounded like some Chinese drama serial. It is believed that one man’s wife had an affair, hence the husband cast a spell on the dog and abandoned him at the temple to spite the wife.  Feeling sorry for the dog, the caregiver decided to rescue him although many had warned her against taking the dog for it would bring her bad luck. 

If you want my honest opinion, there was no black magic performed on the dog and he was fine.  The dog simply had low self esteem and no confidence - that’s why he couldn’t fend for himself.  We were going to change that for Xiao Hei by giving him the confidence he deserves so he can stand up for himself in future. 

Xiao Hei is a young dog estimated to be about 3 years old.  I made a promise to him that he will not have to return to the shelter where he came from and he will start a brand new life at Zeus Residence, where volunteers will show him with love and care.

Sunday, 18 September

It was Sunday afternoon and I was at the shelter getting ready to send 2 dogs to the vet for sterilization and I received a call from Dr Ang giving us the bad news that Xiao Hei passed away in his sleep.  I recalled seeing him on Friday evening when he was so alert and walking about in the clinic – he showed me the will to live but I had this feeling that his system was slowly shutting down – Xiao Hei did not even show us his suffering and his pain.  Could you see how strong willed this dog was?

We are extremely glad that Xiao Hei received the treatment and a second chance that he deserved.  When he passed away, he went knowingly that we all loved him very much and he passed away with dignity.

What is Pain?

Could you feel the pain and the sadness Xiao Hei was going through?  If it was us, we would ask for pain killers to stop the pain because our threshhold for pain is low.  As for Xiao Hei, he persevered and he never gave up.  When an animal wants to live, its survival instinct is very high.

We would like to thank Dougie’s owner James for allowing the donation of Dougie's blood to Xiao Hei.  Dr Ang and Dr Teo for attending to Xiao Hei and for doing what they could to save him.

I know that from the bottom of Xiao Hei’s heart – he says "thank you for caring".

Xiao Hei has gone through so much pain.

Xiao Hei passed away peacefully

in his sleep on 18 September 2011.

What is Pain?

Xiao Hei may you rest in peace and

we know that you are very forgiving towards

humans and dogs that have done this to you.

You still trusted humans despite what you have gone through.

 If humans are as understanding as you,

you would have made this place a better world.