When Friends Get Together, Miracles Can Happen

And indeed it has! Venus may not lose her limb after all.

She has been at the Vet for a full month now and not only is she getting bigger and stronger by the day, she is also regaining her confidence. She is snapping and growling at visitors and sometimes Natasha, the massage therapist who had kindly offered to help Venus. Natasha has been massaging Venus thrice weekly and has seen some improvement in Venus.

Natasha massaging Venus, with Cary (right) ensuring Venus stays calm

Cary ensuring Venus behaves during massage therapy

Her accident wound is healing 

We don’t blame Venus for her behaviour. In fact, we’re delighted with it! This means she is feeling much better and would likely be able to survive back at the factory and defend herself.

She goes for three walks a day, either with Dawn or Cary, who work at the clinic. She is starting to bear weight on her injured hind leg again. Venus is pretty wary of humans when she is out on her walks and tends to hide behind Cary when people approach or walk by. She seems to fear loud noises.

Venus taking Cary for a walk

Doesn't Venus look stronger?

 Her skin looks much better but will take some time before she regains her jet black coat again

Venus' healthy home cooked food served on a silver platter

A skin scrape was done on Venus a couple of days back and it is confirmed she is free of scabies. Her surgery has been scheduled for Thursday (30 Sept) at the Sunset Way branch. Dr Simon Quek will be performing the surgery. The procedure that Venus will be undergoing is known as FHNE (Femoral Head and Neck Excision) where there is bone-on-bone contact which results in great pain, limits the dog’s activities and makes the dog constantly uncomfortable. During the surgery, the head and neck of the femur is removed and Venus’ leg then becomes reliant on the muscles for support. She may walk with a limp after surgery but at least she does not require an amputation and will no longer suffer in pain. She will be transferred to Sunset Way on Wednesday and after her surgery, will return to the Redhill branch to be with her Cary. There she remains for a week or so, till her wound has healed completely and she will then have to be returned to the factory as we have not been able to find a permanent home for her.

In our volunteer work, this is something we often dread – returning the dog or cat to less than perfect living conditions when they have recovered. We do feel sad taking them back but how many homes can we possibly find for all these street animals? As long as HDB does not change their ruling on home owners adopting street dogs, these dogs will most likely remain on the streets for the rest of their lives, with no hope of ever knowing what proper food and shelter is, never experiencing love.

We thank everyone who has come into Venus’ life and made a difference for her. You showed her what love and compassion is. Without your help, we may not have been able to afford her surgery and Vet stay. Without your support, we would not be able to continue helping the sick and injured animals that live on the streets.

Venus thanks ;
Lynette and Maggie for their daily home cooked food. Venus has gotten really picky!
Natasha for visiting Venus three times a week to massage her
Carey and Dawn for making sure Venus got her walks
And everyone who has contributed to her Vet bills and bought our Zeus 2011 calendars.

Read Venus' initial rescue.

Venus' 2nd update.