25
December 2012 will be a Christmas that holds a special significance in my
heart.
My
husband and I chose a new route for our Christmas morning walk with Eva, our
golden retriever. Not long into our walk, Eva suddenly froze and looked ahead
which is unusual as she is an extremely laid back dog! Nothing really fazes or catches
her interest, unless it is food.
I followed the direction of her gaze which drew me to a 3-foot deep drain. Huddled together were 2 female puppies, not more than 3 months old, one black and one white. While my husband was holding on to Eva, I clambered down into the drain with the intention of saving them. However, the black puppy scampered away, leaving its sibling rooted on the spot.
At a quick glance, I thought I
saw a red collar on the white puppy. But on closer examination, I was shocked
that the red collar was actually a ring of exposed flesh with two ends of a
steel hanger crossed, pulled tight, then twisted in a vice grip around
the puppy’s neck. The
puppy’s tiny neck was garroted, the steel wire slicing through the tender flesh
of her throat, like knife through butter. The poor puppy was letting off
intermittent painful yelps and was quavering in pain. Cautiously, I approached
her. She wanted to dart away but she could not as she did not have the energy
to. Quickly, I scooped her into my arms
with her whimpering pitifully.
With
my bare hands, I tried to remove the wire around the puppy’s neck but it was
too tightly wound to be pried open. It was a public holiday, all the
veterinarian clinics were closed and I was determined to find help for this
puppy. Thus, I cradled the little bundle in my arms and raced home with my
husband and Eva behind me.
Upon
reaching home, I tried to slide a cutter under the twisted wire to try and free
her from her agony. The wire was too deeply embedded into the puppy’s flesh
that it made her winced and arched away to the corner of the wall. I came up
with another plan which was to use pliers and gently unwound the twisted wire
to loosen its hold on the puppy. It worked and the puppy was freed from its
painful ordeal.
Gently, I flushed the dirt and cleaned the exposed neck wound
with a mild solution of chlorhexidine. The puppy just sat there frozen, her
eyes wide and bewildered, except her chest rose and fell mightily, betraying
her fear from the horrific experience.
Next,
I whipped out my mobile phone and snapped two photographs of the wound and the
puppy to Raymund Wee, founder of Noah’s Ark Natural Animal Sanctuary (NANAS).
He told me that I did an excellent job at cleaning the puppy’s wound as he had
showed me the correct procedure of wound cleaning before. Raymund told me that
he could connect with the puppy through
her sorrowful and wistful molten brown eyes. He has seen many cases of animals
that are abandoned on the streets, having little to eat and being the target of
abuse by people. Like all street animals, they yearn for security and safety. After looking at the
photographs, Raymund told me that her home should be at the sanctuary.
To
prevent the puppy from injuring herself and to get some rest, I placed her into
a cage. By late afternoon, she began to move around and sniff at her cage. She
was a different puppy as her eyes sparkled with mischief as she wagged her tail
excitedly. I treated her with some roast chicken that was left over from
Christmas Eve which she gobbled down. I thought to myself, “What a voracious
appetite!”
Now,
she was a happy rambunctious puppy again, giving us lots of little licks to
show her appreciation and running around in circles that expressed her evident
joy. The once shocked and anguish look was replaced by angelic and trusting
eyes. Despite the nightmare of being almost strangled to death with a wire that
was put onto her on purpose, my husband and I knew that deep down, all she wanted
was to love and be loved. Both of us rejoiced in her speedy recovery and her
indomitable spirit.
I
shudder to think if we had not found her, she would have suffered a slow and
painful death from the garroted neck and the infection to her open wound. For
some reason we decided to change our route on Christmas Day; and our Eva’s eyes
and nose, which normally are fixated only on food, this time it was on the
puppies. It must be God’s
timing and mercy.
The
true meaning of Christmas is centered on the birth of Jesus Christ and ushering
of hope unto the world. Through God’s grace and mercy, this puppy was given a
new lease of life. To remember and celebrate on this special day, I decided to
name her “Christmas” which is a fitting reminder that miracles do happen and
that we are called to as their guardians to protect, love and care for them.
By Siah Li Mei
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