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In February we were called to rescue eight little middle-aged and senior dogs after their breeder owner had passed away.
What we discovered were severely neglected lovely little dogs, seven Shih Tzu’s, of which three are blind, and a Pug – all of them needing immediate veterinary care.
Poppy, Nelly, Tiddles, Bambam, Baby Girl, Bumble and Sweetie who are aged between 11 and 14 and five-year-old Pug, Bilbo, all had lovely temperaments and we wanted to do our absolute best for them.
The dogs received treatment for surgical removal of mammary tumours and rotten teeth. Poor little Bumble had to have extensive dental work for neglected rotten teeth and the vet said it was the worst teeth she had ever seen!
Apart from the Pug, they were all in desperate need of a groom for their badly matted coats. They also received a lovely groom from regular supporters, Anna and George from Cockapoo and Friends dog groomers, who dropped everything to give all the dogs a lovely groom to make them feel more comfortable.
We found all the dogs’ wonderful foster homes so we could assess them, and they could recover before finding their new homes.
All the dogs are now settled into their new homes, here’s how some of them are getting on:
Senior, blind, and extremely tiny Shih Tzu’s, Poppy (14) and Nelly (13), found an amazing ‘twilight’ foster home, with Penny and her family, who have given them a safe and loving home to enjoy the rest of their lives. The family did not mind that the girls could have accidents in the house and little Nelly has arthritis. Polly and Nelly are now enjoying their golden years, with Penny and their new best friends, Saffy and Bobby. Their new mum and dad said:
“They are settling in well; they find their bearings as they are quite blind, but they are managing very well.
“They are sleeping through the night and they don’t even wake up for ten minutes when we get up in the morning. They are such adorable little girls; we love them both so much already.”
Poor Bambam was not as lucky and found herself fighting for her life not long after being adopted. She developed Pyometra, a life-threatening uterine infection that mostly affects older, unspayed female dogs. Bambam’s neuter was planned to happen once she had time to recover from her neglect and when the time was right, but sadly she got sick first.
During the operation, the vet also found and removed a hidden mammary tumour.
Poor Bambam had only just settled into her new forever home, where her new mum and dad had fallen instantly in love and they were devastated at the thought of losing her so soon.
Bambam was lucky, due to the quick reaction of her mum and dad, she got to the vets in time, was treated and is now on the road to recovery. Pyometra is profoundly serious and can be fatal, Bambam would have died if she had not gotten to the vets in time!
One-eyed Pug, Bilbo, now Billy, was adopted by a wonderful family who think he is amazing and love him so much. Sadly, poor Billy has had to have surgery to save his remaining eye. His mum, Linda, said:
“Billy boy is a pleasure; he has now got over his surgery. He has made our life a joy and hope we have his.”
Despite it being a challenging time for a lot of people, we were overwhelmed with the response to these little dogs, and we would like to thank everyone who donated and helped us raise an amazing £2,000 to contribute to their vet bills.
Please do not buy a puppy from a puppy farm or backyard breeder, by doing so you are supporting the abuse and cruelty it causes to the parents, who are usually kept in unspeakable conditions.
Please also be a responsible owner and neuter your pets, no one wants to lose their best friend because of Pyometra, mammary or testicular tumours!
Find out more about how WAW can help you neuter your pets here.
If you would like to support WAW to help more dogs like Poppy, Nelly, Tiddles, Bambam, Baby Girl, Bumble, Sweetie and Bilbo then please visit our donation page.