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Offical Groomer: Awesome Pawsome
Fetch-Box Singapore
In His Last Days – Barabas The Senior Singapore Special
I still remember Save Our StreetDogs (SOSD) Siew Tuck Wah telling me the story of how he had come across a rescue case just before a Christmas party in 2012. As with any social media-attached person today, I had already noticed on my newsfeed that he had undertaken another rescue case during the public holiday.
Not just any
rescue case but a senior dog that had been badly abused by his previous owners
and sent to be put down (Who in their right frame of mind would want to put
down their dog during the Christmas period is beyond me!).
Also, Barabas came with a gaping wound at his head that was already heavily infested with maggots. To top it off, this senior dog was wary of strangers and would snap at anyone who came near him. Even the vet said that “this was the worst maggot wound she has ever seen”. With such an image flashing across the video, imagine how much worse it was whenever Barabas flicked his ear and maggots would be flung across the room?
Also, Barabas came with a gaping wound at his head that was already heavily infested with maggots. To top it off, this senior dog was wary of strangers and would snap at anyone who came near him. Even the vet said that “this was the worst maggot wound she has ever seen”. With such an image flashing across the video, imagine how much worse it was whenever Barabas flicked his ear and maggots would be flung across the room?
Barabas was the kind of case
which rescuers hope but deep down know it is not easy to find a home. There
were appeals for him to be adopted. But it was not easy and SOSD knew it.
Honestly, there were few who would have been capable of handling a senior
canine that needed so much medical and personal attention. Sensing it from the
get go, Siew went the extra mile and opened his home to yet another furry
friend. It took many months and from what I remembered, lots of quality kibble
and BARF meals before he was fit to live at the SOSD shelter.
In recent months, his health took
a turn for the worse and Siew decided that it is only right that Barabas be staying in a home setting during his last days. I could not help but shed a
couple of tears as Barabas moved uncomfortably from his many ailments while
being fed his daily meds. But Siew made sure his every waking moment was
comfortable and it was heartening to see the people gathered at his final send
off before being cremated.
“From the day he came to my home to recuperate, Barn Barn has always been my dog. I hoped I had acknowledged that earlier. If I had, I wouldn't send him back to shelter after he recovered, only bringing him back during his final days,” said Siew.
“From the day he came to my home to recuperate, Barn Barn has always been my dog. I hoped I had acknowledged that earlier. If I had, I wouldn't send him back to shelter after he recovered, only bringing him back during his final days,” said Siew.
The video ended with the
following quote:
“A pet is for life. Who are we to
take away the lives of such beautiful creatures, whose unbreakable spirits put
us the shame?”
Looking at Cory and Cole today, I dread the time when they might possibly go through any sort of illness. I do ask myself, "When the time comes, how ready will I be to let them go?" I do not have the answer yet. But one thing I am sure and all my pet-loving friends will agree - in our furkid’s last days, we would give our all to send them off in the most proper and meaningful way possible.
Labels: dog rescue, dogs, mixed breed, musings, singapore special, sosd, stories
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