NA Rescue - Update: Bruno

It has been more than two weeks since Bruno came under our care, and though we have been busy with other rescue cases, we have been monitoring Bruno closely to ensure that he is recovering well. We are pleased to update with more than good news – that Bruno’s wound is healing wonderfully, and that he does not need ear surgery at the present moment!

Initially, when trying to nab Bruno, we noticed that many dogs near the coffeeshop area he often hung around at, chased after him the moment they saw him. He might have ventured into the “territory” of the others, or it might have been a fight for food or even females on heat that caused his injury. Though the workers at the factory whereby he stayed in knew of it, they did not bother to treat him. This has always left us wondering why are people indifferent to the suffering of the injured animal – is it due to ignorance, or because he is just one of the many strays they see daily on the road, where no one bothers about their existence and life or death?

Each time we visited Bruno at the vet, whenever he saw us, he would start to smile cheekily, and that really made us feel our efforts have paid off. From the first time we spotted his downcast self, the sight of him gleefully greeting us now is rewarding enough.

The vet estimates him to be about 3-5 years old, and he has been given a clean bill of health, albeit on the thin side as most rescued strays are. Bruno might look tall and big, but like all our very own animal companions, he is a darling at heart. Give him a slight rub on the muzzle and his eyes will slowly flutter close as though he’s enjoying the “massage”. He must have never felt this kind of love before.

The nurses cleaned his wound a few times daily, and they commented that he is a very co-operative boy, except for the part whereby he always tries to escape! We guess that having been a stray all his life, Bruno is not at all used to being confined and restrained. Nonetheless, he showed no signs of aggression at all, despite how the wound cleaning would have hurt. Considering how deep it was, it would have been really painful.



The poor boy always looked at us with such sorrowful eyes whenever we turned to leave, and he would howl as if begging us not to go and not to leave him there! Eventually, Bruno was discharged after staying for a good five days at the vet, but try as we might, we could not find a fosterer for him and he was transferred to a boarding kennel. As you can see from the picture, the bottom of his ear (right side of his wound) still looked quite puffy and when pressed lightly, one could feel it was accumulation of fluid (in this case blood) inside.





At that point of time, the wound was still extremely raw and we did not want to decide on needle aspiration or surgery as yet. We wanted to wait for the wound to heal further before making any decision, plus the fact that there have been cases of aural hematoma eventually healing on their own.

As the days passed, Bruno’s wound healed with ease. The swelling of his wound went down, and our wish was also granted – that he needed no surgery at the present moment as the puffiness of his ear also subsided. The vet was pleased with the progress of his recovery.



Lucky Bruno passes his time now chewing on raw hides and playing with balls inside his kennel. It is fun to see a big boy enjoy playing with his toys, apart from his other daily habit of biting the grilles of his kennel and causing them to bend! Right now, we are looking for a forever home for this fine-looking lad.

Do you have a space in your house and most importantly, a place in your heart for this special someone who will be your loyal companion for the rest of his life? If you do, drop us an email and we'll hook you up with Bruno. Please help us spread the word!

Last but certainly not least, we are really grateful to everyone out there who has offered help to Bruno in one way or another. The support from each and every of you keeps us going. :)