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If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and a man. Mark Twain





Monday, July 26, 2010

Tiger's Home Coming

Remember Tiger, an injured dog volunteers rescued two weeks ago? Tiger has since recovered from his surgery and has headed back to his home at the factory.

Tiger spent a week at the vet. During his stay, he howled and barked as he did not like being caged up. Dr Ang understood and let him run freely inside the clinic whenever there were no other doggie customers around. After assessing Tiger, Dr Ang noticed that apart from his bleeding scrotum and broken hip bone, he also had a laceration on his left cornea. Antibiotics were constantly applied but Tiger is still squinting and his eye is still tearing from the laceration. During his week-long stay at the clinic, workers from the factory called twice to check if Tiger was okay and thanked us and doctors on behalf of him. It is evident that the workers love Tiger, given his sweet and obedient nature.

When it comes to eating, Tiger was a bottomless pit. The doctors were very understanding and knew that because he was a stray, food was often an issue so they gave him more than his fair share. Even then, the food was never enough for Tiger.

Little Sara and her mum, Lynette, read about Tiger and were both touched by his resilience. Six-year old Sara asked her mummy to call the vet to see if they could bring food for Tiger. Dr Ang thought it was a good idea as Tiger was rather thin and weak, so for the next few days, Tiger was fed with great food consisting of beef and eggs - cooked with love and compassion. Tiger looked forward to their visits and gulped down the food in no time. Meanwhile, Tiger's wound was healing well and was soon ready to go home. We’re sure he would miss Little Sara's delicious food and she would miss him too. We gave her a picture of Tiger to thank her for her kindness. Little Sara is definitely a role model for all children - starting at a young age to help animals.

Tiger’s daily feast

The day came where Tiger was ready to be discharged. During the long journey back to his home, Tiger barked non-stop, trying to bite the metal on the cage, wanting to be let out. This was a stark contrast from when we first rescued him; then, he was weak, in pain and quiet all the way to the vet.

After enduring pain for weeks, he is almost well again

We had called to inform the workers of Tiger’s return and despite being a half day workday, the workers stayed at the factory awaiting his return. We arrived around 4pm and were greeted by many workers and dogs- it was literally a small welcome party for Tiger. He was happy to be back and fellow dogs sniffed him too. Workers commented that he had put on some weight. Tiger's scrotum had already healed, but his eyes still required medication twice daily, so we handed the responsibility to the workers and told them to call if he was not well again.

Worker (Ah Lee) letting Tiger out of the carrier

Happy to see each other

Tiger and his factory-mate

Since his return, volunteers have visited Tiger twice and his wounds are completely dry and well. He remembers us and runs to greet us when we shout his name, and of course, looks forward to the food we bring.

Tiger says Thank You to everyone who has helped him

Home Sweet Home
Such is the life of an animal rescue volunteer - we do what we can for the animals and it is the satisfaction of seeing them recover, happy and healthy, that keeps us wanting to help more and do more for them. The gratefulness in their eyes spur us to continue rendering help to many other strays out there, giving them probably the only loving human touch they will ever receive.

Story contributed by our young 16 yr old volunteer, Jo.

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"He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion."- Unknown