The Issue of Blood

Blood is vital for our survival. There are lots of definitions from science books to the encyclopedia but break it down to simplest form, everyone agrees, without blood we have no life. Without blood, we die. This is universal and applies to all warm blooded creatures - humans or animals.

Blood - life giving. The most precious commodity that money cannot buy. Blood was once shed a long time ago for our salvation and redeemed our lives. It was love that caused blood to be shed for us. And it was for love that Patches gave his blood for Davee. No, Patches did not know Davee. Neither did we, but we do know what it is like. We understand the love that Davee’s rescuers have for her. We can empathise with them how they would do all they can, to rush against time, against all odds to rescue Davee, the sweet little dog rescued for a better life, a better future.

There are probably many camps of thought on this, we know. But we are not here to argue, neither are we here to comment. All that is not important. What is important is that Davee not only need funds, she also needs blood. And she needs donor dogs to supply that. As far as we know, there is no blood bank for dogs, yet, in Singapore. Some big vet practices have their own pool and resource to draw from, while the smaller ones depend on volunteers, from friends or friends of friends to pass the word around, that a donor dog is needed.

Patches. Our awesome dog. Yes he is awesome, truly, in size, in looks and in character. There has yet been another dog we know that is like Patches. His personality is nothing you have ever met. He is big, yes he is, not just in size but in his whole demeanor. He makes us laugh.

Even in our dreariest and darkest hour, he makes us laugh. Nothing can be that bad when we look at Patches. He, of all would know. He’s been laughed at, criticized, spat at, screamed at, yelled at, sneered at, threatened with, you name it, Patches have seen and heard it all.

In the wild, people would run and scream in fear when they saw him. Even if he did nothing and just stood and looked at them with his wide open mouth, tongue hanging out and waving tail, people would turn and run. He must have probably been thinking confused, “Hey, why are they doing that?.. What’s happening… Where’re they going? I just want to be friends”.

Patches strikes an awesome pose

Yes, knowing Patches, that’s what he would have been thinking because he would never have believed that people would be afraid of him. “What!!! Afraid of who? …me????” Aw, our old goofy Patches, the perpetual clown and joker? If there’s one that you would call a clown, that’s our Patches, our funny boy.

Like we said, he never fails to bring a smile to our faces and a bright light in the horizon. He is our Mr. Sunshine. And all Patches ever wanted was to go home. Left behind abandoned by his owner, Patch only wanted what the next dog did, a home, a family, love, pets and hugs.

Poor Patch. It always looked like he didn't understand why he was left behind. When we fed him in the wild with the Pack, he never wanted to go back after he had his food. He always looked confused when we had to leave him. He probably associate us with his previous owners and would sit with a longing look that we would invite him into the car. Poor poor Patch. Yes, those days it was so hard to say goodbye to a dog who is chasing after our car.

That is why he is always try to grab the attention first when we visit the Pack. Our love and hugs are never enough for him. Patches always want more as his big heart craves for a family that is his, truly his. It does appear that our goofy boy tries to hog the attention for himself but we know that is not true. All our pack want attention, except because Patch is bigger, stronger and faster, he jumps on us first. We laugh and call him "Mr. Cheongster" because he always 'cheong' (dashes) first.

Patches out in the wild during one of our feeds

Patches and his best pal, Junior, when they were in the wild.
It is Patches who has kept Junior safe as he protects Junior
against the bigger dogs who bully Junior.

When we heard the call for blood donors for Davee (see http://maovellous.wordpress.com/), we took Patches down on Wednesday to the vet. Thank God that for all the days in the wild, he is a healthy dog and passed the tests although it must have been torturous for him. He endured the needle to draw his blood several times. Because he moved so much and he is quite a big dog, it was difficult to hold him down but eventually the clinic was successful in taking his sample blood for a test to match his compatability. Somehow, it was deemed then, that there was no match so poor Patches went back. But he did seemed happy to have had a fun day out, rather than being stuck in his kennel. He did enjoy the car rides, up and down. We are sure we have told you before how much he enjoys car rides - barking and growling at noisy motorbikes that passed by and big trucks that zoom next to the car. Woof Woof Woof, went Patches and zoom zoom zoom went our car.

What a tale he must have told his kennel mates, the rest of the RATS Pack. How enthralling it must have been for the rest to hear him tell his adventure to the vet and how those people in white jackets had to ‘poke’ him… ouch ouch, it hurts as he yelled and everyone said “Aw, poor thing. The best part of the whole adventure was he got to eat a few pieces of yummy duck meat from Davee’s kind mummy which was very good because poor Patches couldn’t have his lunch yet as the kennels held back his plate, to fast him before the blood donation. What a huge sacrifice for always-hungry Patch. Yes for that, it was a huge sacrifice knowing how much he does enjoy his meals ….. and the next dog’s too.

Surprisingly the next day, we received a call from Davee’s mummy and the vet that due to a slight ‘technicality’, Patches’ blood was actually a good match and so on Friday morning, it was back to the drawing board. Again, Patches had to be brought to the vet, but this time since we already knew he was really going to donate blood, we prepared nice treats for him, sausages, hard boiled eggs, liver and chicken meat so that after his donation, he would be able to indulge and we could completely spoil him. We even brought him a beautiful blue scarf, to reward him and show the world what a handsome dog Patches is… and he truly is, our awesome dog.

Handsome Patches with his beautiful blue scarf.
See how adorable our goofy boy is.
Doesn’t he bring a sunshine into your life and a smile
to your face? This world need more Patches!!

Well, Patches sure remembered the vet who poked him the other day. This time the injection was to sedate him and he yelled very loudly ,just for all to hear how big a sacrifice he was making. Oh yes, our Patches is very good at vocalising his thoughts. The transfusion went well although it did break our hearts to see Patch being squeezed and moved around so that the blood would flow evenly. He was under sedation so he probably didn’t feel it but as an observer it is always not easy. No it isn’t easy to see the one you love suffering, and so we understand how Davee’s mummy must feel, even more.

Patches is sedated for the blood donation. Photo taken from maovellous blog (http://maovellous.wordpress.com).
We were too busy helping to hold down Patches and
taking a video of him that we had no chance to take a photo.

After the required 300 ml was taken, Patches was given a “wake up” jab but somehow his eyes remained closed and he did not respond. We called him several times to wake him up but he slept on. Then we waved a bacon treat in front of his nose, miracles of all miracles, Patches eyes opened up really big and stared at that yummy treat, much to our relief. We were not sure whether to laugh at this comical boy or cry with relief. We did tell you before that he is our clown, our joker. Oh yes, that is Patch. After that it was eyes open big for yummy treats and although he did grab at his treat, he just held it in his mouth for a long time, too tired and not yet out of sedation to eat his snack.

Patches, after the donation, is given nourishing liver and
chicken meat but he doesn’t like liver (sigh).
Instead he indulges in sausages and hard boiled eggs.

But the food is not wasted, Milo enjoys the treat instead.
“It’s okay, brother, you can have my liver (yucks) and chicken.”

We have visited him this morning (Saturday) and Patches is now well and back to his normal exuberant, active, boisterous self and telling and retelling his adventure to the rest of the pack. What a big sacrifice Patches has given, what a noble act – blood to save another.

Patches, as well as the rest of the RATS Pack is up for adoption. Somewhere out there, is a home for him. He was rescued for a reason, we know and we believe his time will come. There will be someone with a heart as big as Patches, and will love him for what he is and how he looks. Someone will look at this lovely Brindle coloring and black Patch and say, "Wow what a beatiful dog and great personality." because he deserves it.

Patches' message - "Take me as I am because I will love you as you are. If I can see beyond your looks, can you not do the same for me?"

He is a big Hero. We feel good. Yes we do.

How ironical that the one most despised and callously called 'diseased' dog would be the one who could give his blood to save another. Yes, we are very proud of him. We are proud to know him, to have fed him, been there for him all those months and to finally have rescued him. If we had not done what we did then, he would have been picked up and put down. That much we know. The people at the bus stop where he used to run to, the canteen he used to sniff for food and the joggers in that area had their eye on him. It was a matter of time. If those people know that Patches had done what a lot of people do not do, donate blood, they would be ashamed.

Giving blood, donating blood, that is something that is free yet the blood is priceless. It is through love that blood is shed. While we do not know how compatible Patches’ blood is for Davee, we do hope it does not cause any side effects for her but this act was done in love, and for that Patches is our hero. Our Patch, awesome indeed.

Precious blood for a precious dog.
This is Davee who needs help with funds, blood and prayers

The rest of our rescued dogs are not suitable as they are too small. Horlicks might be a potential candidate in the future should he attain his right weight gain. Yes, we would be proud if Horlicks is also a donor because we ourselves are blood donors and we know that through this act, people’s lives and another dog’s life can be saved. We just thank God that all our rescued pack are healthy. Out of the six we have taken from the wild, only one has had tick fever and another has heartworms which can be treated, how marvellous is that. The rest of them are very healthy. God is indeed good. He has kept them safe and healthy during the whole time they were in the wild.

If you have a healthy dog, less than 7 years old that is over 25 kilos, free of tick fever or heartworms, we encourage you to consider the next time you hear of a call for blood donors. With the current restriction on those living in HDB to own big dogs, the number of dogs that can donate are already small, taking into consideration that out of these, some may not be well or may be too old. What we have left is a very small percentage who can actually donate and if your dog can and you choose not to, there is no dog left.

There are many myths in giving blood – No, one does not become weaker after giving blood. No, one does not get the disease when donating blood. No, one does not become anaemic after donating although it is good to feed them nourishing meals after to speed their recovery. And no, during the transfusion one does not feel pain as the dog is sedated. But what is true is that the red blood cells will generate more blood, fresh blood and it will be another three months before one can donate again. It is the same for dogs as it is for humans. And it is for the greater good – to save another’s life.

Dogs are the most giving of all animals. They have a love and devotion that surpasses others. There are many stories of dogs who would sacrifice their life for their masters or those they love. With their great capacity for such great love, what do you think they would choose if they could understand? Would they give their blood to save another? We are sure they would say YES. So dog owners out there, do think about it. Do not let your fear hold your dog back of this noble act. Do not deprive a dog that needs that precious blood a chance at life. Do think about it. It is a good and selfless act.

FOR ADOPTION
Call us for adoption of our beautiful, healthy, beloved Rat Pack,
Milo, Patches, MamaBrown, Cara, Horlicks, Sissy and Indy
email : anaterry@singnet.com.sg or call 98 38 38 20

We are helping to put this on behalf of a friend:

Cute Mixed Breed Puppies found

These two cute puppies (Brother and Sister) were found in a bush behind a bus stop at Clementi Avenue 6 and the rescuer is trying to rehome them. They were probably abandoned. If you are interested to adopt or can foster the puppies, please email to dcdiana@singnet.com.sg or anaterry@singnet.com.sg or call 97578118

Unfortunately, the current licensing ruling restricts ownership of mid-sized dogs in public housing, and as much as we would love for these pups to go to homes who will love them, regardless of the type, regretfully, we need to inform that mid size dogs are not on the HDB approved list . This does not apply to fostering.