Oliver

*Graphic Content*

Named after Oliver Twist, Oliver shares a similar experience to the protagonist written by Charles Dickens. Ever since Oliver was injured, he was always bullied by his pack during feeding time. The stronger male dogs will take all the chicken meat and leave behind the white rice, which will sometimes be snatched away from the other dogs.

RESCUE

We first found out about Oliver from Samson, a stray feeder who notified the public about this poor dog. We are really thankful to him as well as Casper, Joanne and Selina for patiently waiting in the field past midnight for 3 nights despite working the next day just to trap and rescue Oliver. Joanne, Casper and Selina even went the extra mile of bearing the cost of the trapper and the transportation to the clinic.

We sent him to the emergency clinic after he was trapped, thinking he was only suffering from huge maggots wound on his back. However, to our horror, we found out that he might be blind in one eye. His left eyeball was sunken and we could see more white than the black iris. We got Dr Dilshad Malhi of Mt Pleasant Referral Clinic to first flush out all the maggots and run a blood test to check on his health. We found out his heartworm test came out positive.

At first, we had the intention of treating Oliver's wound and release him back into the wild as we are full, with no available fosterer to take him in. We do not have any shelter to take him in as well since we are fully dependent on fosterer. However, after knowing his full condition, we were torn in our decision as we could not imagine his plight if released back into the wild but practical considerations made it tough for us to keep him.

Regardless, to keep our cost down, we discharged Oliver from the emergency clinic the next day and transferred him to our regular vet at Mt Pleasant (Mandai) for further treatment. By then, we had already incurred $1,070 for his medical treatment and it is expected to increase over the next few days.

1ST VISIT

During the first few days at the Vet, Oliver had 2 panic attacks. The first was when he just woke up from his maggots wound surgery and castration. He simply went hysterical and became very fearful. Subsequently, he went on a hunger strike, which worried Dr Gloria, who then called to inform us. We visited him immediately. He was facing the wall and was moody. However, we observed that his long sharp ears were standing straight, seemingly trying to eavesdrop on our conversation with the Vet Tech, John.

Dr Gloria also mentioned that he is very fierce towards human, barking loudly at any that he faced. He is very fearful and way of anyone around him. This is probably due to the whole ordeal of being trapped and ending up in a clinic, which traumatized him. It could also be because he was perplexed at why he woke up to being caged and feeling excruciating pain, which came from the castration and stitching of the maggots wound.

17 SEPTEMBER: 2ND VISIT TO OLIVER

We visited Oliver again and was glad to know that he has made great improvements in terms of his maggots wound and in his trust towards humans. We are thankful to Dr Gloria of Mt Pleasant (Mandai) for taking such great care of him and also to her staff, Leanne, for walking Oliver.

Oliver was a lot calmer and more relaxed, facing us without showing any defense. This delighted us and it is definitely a huge leap of betterment from the hostility he showed us when we first saw him. The clinic has also went the extra mile to comfort him by placing a big soft mat on the cold floor in his kennel. We heard that Selina (one of the rescuers) came for a visit and brought along a sumptuous home cooked food as for Oliver. Samson, the stray feeder also dropped by for a visit.

19 SEPTEMBER: 3RD VISIT

We could not help but think of Oliver and decided to visit him again. Oliver's maggot wound is healing well but we still could not find a fosterer for him. He is steadily improving and while he remains fearful of humans, we believe he could become better given tender loving care.

FOSTERER

Good new everyone! Oliver was very blessed and we were extremely relieved when Nelly Yeo came up to us offering to take him in after reading about his case. Nelly appeared in the news 10 years ago for her devotion to her dog, which passed on last December at the age of 16. We are very sure that she could take care of Oliver well!

Prior to the night Nelly appeared, we were already making plans to release Oliver back into the wilds. While we attempt to remain clear headed and make rational decision in Oliver's case, it was a struggle not to let our emotions affect our decision. On the very last day of the ultimatum, Nelly appeared at the clinic with home cooked chicken meat to visit Oliver. Instantly, we knew the answer. Oliver will not be going back to the wild anymore.

PurelyAdoptions will be contributing towards Oliver's food expenses and medical fees due to constraints faced by Nelly. However, we are extremely grateful that Nelly could offer her space in her flat to take Oliver in!

20 SEPTEMBER 2016

Oliver had 2 dinner today! Thank you Selina for bringing a wonderful 2 course meal for him. It's great to know Oliver didn't back off when Selina approached him. A good sigh. He is definitely getting better and better each day! If you know anyone who like to foster/adopt him, pls contact 90018848 ASAP. We are pressing for time as we don't have a ready fosterer. Pls share the post. Thank you.

24 SEPTEMBER: MOVING IN TO FOSTERER'S PLACE

We have successfully transferred Oliver to Nelly's place in the morning of 24 September. Oliver is coping well so far. In fact, we were surprised Oliver did not put up much struggle when Alvin picked him up from the clinic this morning. Perhaps Oliver knew that he will be heading for a place called home and will no longer lead the life of a stray. He will be continuing with his heartworm treatment at Nelly's place and we will expect the medical bills to rise further once the treatment starts.

By now, the bill has rose to $2,306.25. Albeit the escalating vet bills, we do not regret saving him. At least, we know that we had helped him clear his maggots wound and castrated him. Kind donors has also made contributions to Oliver's medical bills. We would like to thank the below donors:

Tan Poh Lian $100

Lynette $400

Lin Hui Chin $50

Jacinta Loo $75

We still have an outstanding balance of $1,681.25. If you like to help out with Oliver's medical fee, you can transfer your donations to: Purely Adoptions Ltd, UOB Current A/C: 631-302-019-0 or you can write a cheque to" Purely Adoptions Ltd" and post to PO Box 236, Thomson Rd Post Office Singapore 915708. Any amount will be much appreciated. You can also check out our donations page (https://purelyadoptions.com/donate-to-purely-adoption/) to find out how you can help our cause.

FOSTERER NELLY

Being a rehomer, I have come across many people who wants free pet and people who only wants pedigree pets. It is rare that I come across people willing to care for dogs that are sick, ugly, old or handicapped. There are definitely a handful around, but there are barely any who would give their attention to needy animals. Nelly is one of them. She truly inspired me when she came forward to foster a fearful dog whom no one dares approach. She truly touched me when she so earnestly came forward to care for a semi-blind dog who always loses out to other dogs during meal time.

10 years ago, I read about her and never did I expect the twist of fate to allow our paths to cross 10 years later today. Do have a look at the paper cutting at the end of the page and understand her more. If you would like to help her in any area, do let me know at 90018848 and I will connect you.

OLIVER'S CONDITION AT NELLY'S PLACE

Coming back to Oliver, he has been eating well at Nelly's place so far. While his poo is a little soft, it could be as a result from the new environment or anxiety. Other than that, he is recovering well. We will first heal him back to health before putting him up for adoptions. So, stay tune to this page for future updates about Oliver!

We are Purely for Adoptions and signing off with relief that Oliver's case has been settled for the time being.

26 SEPTEMBER 2016

Oliver is progressing well and has learnt to venture outside his foster home 🙂 We just need to give this baby more time to trust and befriend human again. I'm confident Nelly, the fosterer can make that happen 😃

28 SEPTEMBER 2016

Oliver's first bath!! Yes Nelly! You are fantastic!

28 JANUARY 2017

OLIVER, OUR RESCUED STRAY DOG WHICH HAS A BIG MAGGOT WOUND AND IS SEMI-BLIND RECEIVED HIS 1ST ANGBAO TODAY. THANKS TO HIS LOVELY FOSTERER NELLY!

The badly wounded Oliver was spotted by stray feeder Samson few months ago when he was out on his usual feeding session. We brought Oliver to the vet for treatment and realised he is semi-blind and down with Heartworm. He was indeed an ill-fated dog with all the bad things happened to him then. Maybe that period was the lowest point in his life but he didn't give up. He persist on and met his angelic Fosterer Nelly. Everything changed for better after that. Now, he is a very happy dog with lots of good food and a bed to sleep on. He started to trust human and look forward to his treats like a little puppy. I am so glad to see him happily ripping off his Angbao to get his treat.

Oliver is still undergoing his heartworm treatment at the moment. I am right in naming him Oliver. He will have a happy ending like Oliver Twist.

THANK YOU NELLY FOR TAKING GREAT CARE OF HIM 🙂

29 APRIL 2017

This is Oliver ( the maggot wound, partially blind rescued dog) playing with foster dog Clefairy (cream color). Clefairy, 7mth female is up for adoption.

It's nice to see Oliver so happy playing with Clefairy as he is usually quiet and moody. Thank you Nelly, the fosterer for sending this video to us. It's a joy to see 2 dogs play. Its even more heart warming to see a partially blind dog who was once bullied by a stronger pack when in the wild enjoying himself. Well done Oliver, you have live your life well 🙂

Motto of the video : You can still live your life to the fullest even if you have any shortcomings.

UPDATES:

30 January 2018: Thank you Nelly for coming forward to foster the 5 rescued puppies, 'Do', 'Re', 'Mi', 'Fa' and 'So'! Oliver has now been promoted to a foster daddy. He was such a darling to have for being so gentle and even helping out with the training of the little ones! Good job Oliver!

30 December 2017: Thank you Nelly for the updates! Its heartwarming to see Oliver so well and happy!

1 May 2017: Oliver wishing everyone a Happy Labour Day! Glad to see him doing so well! Thanks Nelly for showering him with so much care and love!

26 September 2016: Oliver is progressing well and has learnt to venture outside his foster home! We are confident that with time, and with Nelly's help, this baby will be able to trust and befriend human again!