Darshini remembers all too well the short time she spent with Venus, a loving senior dog she took care of who was terminally ill.
“Photos of a dog, believed to be abandoned, and with a large tumour were circulated on local animal lovers’ groups on Jan 17,” Darshini said.
The sick dog was lying under a car, not wanting to move much, eat or even drink the water that some kind people left for her.
“I took her to the clinic and during consultation was told that both her hind legs were disfigured and missing most of her toes. The doctor said this was likely caused from being kept in a small cage most of her life.”
The mammary tumour was almost the size of her head, Darshini said, adding that the poor dog also had a bad case of cataracts, especially in her left eye. Most of her teeth were also either rotten or missing.
“She was about 10-12 years old and had clearly been neglected by her owners.”
Darshini said that because the tumour had already ruptured, the dog, who she named Venus, was rushed to Koh Animal Clinic on Jan 23, where an emergency surgery was performed to remove it.
“During the surgery the veterinarian also found two other large masses,” she said. These were to be surgically removed at a later date.
Venus recovered slowly from her operation under the care of Darshini but unfortunately three days before her check-up at the clinic, she stopped eating and became very weak.
“She was not able to walk much and was drinking a lot of water. She also developed a fever.
“I took her to a nearby clinic where she was put on drips and given steroids and antibiotics injections before I took her home.
Unfortunately, Venus took a turn for the worse and by the next morning, was rushed back to Koh Animal Clinic.
An ultrasound revealed the worst – not only had both her kidneys failed, Venus had a tumour in her spleen as well as gallstones in her gallbladder.
Despite being hospitalised for six days, her condition did not improve much.
On March 9, the doctor suggested discharging Venus and continuing her treatment at home in a more comfortable environment.
“We had to give her subcutaneous fluids twice a day. She was not eating and we had to force feed her. It was not easy as she kept vomiting each time.
“We could see she was getting increasingly weak and slept more.”
By March 12, Venus was at her weakest and could barely lift her head. Her breathing had changed as well.
“The next day at around 2.30pm she was almost unconscious. I sat with her till she breathed her last. She passed away at exactly 3.48pm. She was later cremated,” Darshini said.
“I believe she was abandoned because the people who found her said they had never seen this dog in the area before. She also seemed very scared and looked lost,” Darshini said, noting that Venus was not scared of people however, and was even able to walk on a leash with ease.
“Normally when I rescue stray dogs, they are not easy to approach and they are very reluctant to walk on a leash. Venus however was comfortable around people. I believe her owners abandoned her as she was weak and sick and no longer of use to them.”
Darshini has observed that in the last three months alone, she has rescued three abandoned senior dogs.
“This is far too common. Senior dogs are extremely hard to rehome or even find a foster family for as they often require medication and treatment that can be very expensive.
“It is terribly irresponsible of some owners to throw a sick senior dog out because they think it will die soon.”
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