NA Rescue - Diesel

Before reading further - please be aware that there are pictures below that might cause discomfort. Thank you!

It is sad to comment on our society and ourselves that animals have to be severely injured before we are aware of their existence and before we are prepared to help. We must also apologize to our regular readers that some of the pictures are not so pleasant, but they sadly paint the true picture of human callousness. Nevertheless, we feel strongly that we have to tell their story.

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We were alerted by two sisters, Ester and Ruth, about a badly injured dog seen roaming in an industrial area. It was told that this dog was regularly seen at a car park of a restaurant rummaging the garbage for food and that was where they first came across it.

They immediately contacted Noah’s Ark for assistance and together with some volunteers, we staked out the place nightly for 2 hours at each stretch for 6 nights in total, desperately trying to catch sight of the injured dog that badly needed our help.

The dog had a huge gaping wound that was maggot infested

When we first saw it, he was such a sorry sight. That dog had a brown coat, with bones jutting out of its skinny frame. Its ribs were protruding badly, its coat all matted, dirty and bloody. He had a huge gaping wound on the back of its neck and it looked as if it had been involved in too many a fight for food and survival. Looking into its eyes was like looking into a sad empty soul, its gaze telling of the tough life it had been living.

Still, beneath all the pain, we could see a glimmer of hope in its eyes.

His wound was so huge it took up the entire top portion of its back, the rotting flesh was extremely pungent and there were maggots eating into it. The rotting stench made us gasp for air as we tried to lure it into the van. Its fur around the wound was damp with blood, making it a horrible sight to behold.

With the help of three other people, we managed to finally catch him and put in a pet carrier. He struggled a little and tried to bite once, but otherwise, allowed us to help. What hit us next was the strong stench of kerosene! The poor dog’s entire body was drenched in kerosene. Someone had poured kerosene on this already badly injured dog. Was it to kill the maggots or kill the dog?? Whatever the reason, it should not have been done.

The poor dog was in such obvious pain, from the wound and the kerosene burning into its already fragile body.

When we arrived at Mt Pleasant (Sunset Way), Dr Simon Quek immediately dashed out of his consultation room asking “Who is trying to burn down my clinic?”. The smell of kerosene was so strong; it filled the entire clinic with its overpowering smell. Dr Quek immediately ordered the nurses to transfer all the pets from one area and to make room for this dog to be isolated.


The dog fell asleep within a minute of being put in a kennel at Mt Pleasant (Sunset Way)

The initial thought was to put him down and end his pain and misery, but we felt we should give the dog a few days and see if he pulls through this ordeal, so into the cage he went. The minute he entered the cage, he snuggled in a corner and fell into a deep sleep within a minute. He was probably so relieved and somehow knew he would be alright.

He was left alone for the night, to rest, and the clinic was already closing. The next morning he was given a bath and then started the slow and painful process of removing maggots from his wound. We were told by the Vet Techs that the dog cooperated and allowed them to remove the maggots from his wound. On the first day alone, more than a hundred maggots were removed from his wound.

Look at those sad sorrowful eyes pleading for help

He is currently at Mt Pleasant recovering. He has shown signs of improvement and has been eating well. But he has been in a constant deep sleep, waking only to eat before falling back to sleep again.

Stay tuned to our blog for more updates and photos of this dog.

And guess the name we gave to him? We called him Diesel. We couldn’t imagine calling him Kerosene.