A big day for Shin, the husky

March 21, 08. This post is meant to be rather detailed to share events of Shin's rescue, his past and his future.

For both of us, for Shin too -- it was a big day of changing a dog's life and torrential rain.

I felt some form of 'closure' is needed for Shin's episode with the family that kept him for five years since he was brought home as a pup, so when we visited the flat -- Shin tied in the kitchen near the window -- we advised his owner against having any dog in future. The 10-year commitment, responsibility, financial capabilities -- having a dog, I told the uncle, is also having foresight of one's capabilities to take care of the living being for the next 10 over years. I wished I could have spoken with his son, who brought him home on impulse, five years ago, but only uncle was home.

Essentially, this is a family very ignorant of dogcare and that lacks the resources to take care of their pet. More importantly, they lack the interest. I hope my 'education' did drum some message into him against having any pet in future.

For the bulk of five years, Shin was fed two slices of bread every morning and a bowl of rice with egg in the evening -- which account for his mere 15 kg, when we weighed him at the vet's. Shin suffered from overgrown (hooked) nails, which the vet clipped; yeasty ears; left eye infection (could be dry eye); fungal infection on skin; weakend hind joints; (quite) poor coat; a 'ring' that has eaten into his flesh around his neck. Yesterday, for the very first time in five years, he visited the vet and received his first vaccination. Thankfully, he is tested heartworm-negative. Mandatory checks for his transition to his foster home.


Skin inflammation in his inner thighs and fores. Note the pinkness of skin showing through his fur


For most of his five years, Shin had been tied to this taut leash that has gone all the way out of the window, hooked over a bamboo pole holder. This was the place he slept, ate and defecated.


This is the 'ring' of the metal chain that has eaten through his fur into the flesh around his neck. Notice how severe the ring is. We replaced the chain with this red collar.


You can see from Shin's side profile clumps of bad fur that could be picked out very easily. Thankfully, Shin doesn't have tick/flea problem.


Notice how overgrown his nails had become that they were hooked and impeded him from proper walking and standing. Dew claws at his hinds - Shin could be a product of backyard breeders who didn't bother to remove his unnecessary, otherwise impeding, dew claws


A close-up of his hooked nails

We made sure our (unneutered) boy peed and pooed before he entered the car. Though a little food-aggressive, Shin was a joy to have in the car -- not as fidgety as I thought.

One terrible thing about Shin's predicament is that he was shackled to a leash that was hooked over the bamboo pole holder under the window outside. Which made his leash, because of its resultant length, very taut. In this little radius, Shin slept, ate and defecated at the same spot. Worse, instead of a proper collar, the family had used a choke chain, we found to our horror. We removed the choke chain on the spot and replaced it with a plastic collar.

And our boy was jumpy and so full of desperation when he saw us, tugging against the choke chain and leash, for our attention. At times, he fell to his paws, either because his overgrown nails made him slip, or they prevented him for even standing straight. Yet, despite what to me are obvious human-inflicted injuries by acts of omission (i.e. neglect), Shin is a very friendly dog. My first time seeing him, and SB's second.

By all accounts, we could lodge a complaint of animal abuse on the family, but I have doubts about the complaint's effectiveness and wonder if acts of omission, invisible to the eyes of the public, are valid to the authorities. For such a long time, the family thwarted the otherwise normal growth of their pet dog. Deep inside, they knew very well they were not providing decent care to Shin. Why did they do it? Why keep a dog when you can't commit to it?

Their minimalist approach to dogcare has resulted in psychological scars the dog will carry, and a host of medical problems to be cleaned up by strangers. Strangers like SB and G.

But praise, praise, praise! Shin now resides with other rescued victims in a much cleaner, conducive environment, where at the very least, there is sufficient food and social interaction. I cannot express the world of a difference between the two home environments. When we took him to his foster, he was expectedly inquisitive of his new surroundings and the greater world outside his old home. Now, he gets to take in the sights, sounds and scents of the outdoors (as opposed to the gloom of being kept indoors previously), and other caregivers and canine pals where, maybe, for once, he can live, breathe and feel as a dog. A real dog. A good measure of love, care and the right to live as a dog.

Great thanks to G for offering her help in fostering (this is gonna be another long process of rehab and recovery), truly kind-hearted, not to mention experienced; L for facilitating this liaison; SB for recognizing Shin's cry for help and ultimate, ultimate commitment.

In light of the emails and comments on the blog, THANK YOU all who have expressed concern and offered your help to Shin. I sincerely apologise for my delayed response. Wish I could have more pals here but we lack the resources to carry out multiple tasks all at the same time. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

To contribute to Shin, kindly email us at projectjkteam@yahoo.com.sg


Shin, with his new pals - very inquisitive of new environment

Blessings.