Dumaguete Animal Sanctuary

Every Life Matters

RIP

Jyoti

Jyoti

Jyoti, female

Jyoti, female

Poor little Jyoti, one of 4 puppies heartlessly abandoned in September 2023, died suddenly today.  Her siblings Jill, Jane and Jaffa are healthy and surviving, but Jyoti never seemed to gain weight.  It's still a shock to encounter a sudden loss like this, but it is not uncommon for some poor soul in a large litter born on the streets and thrown away carelessly not to make it to adulthood.

We a sorry Jyoti you had such a short life, but hope you knew love and care from humans before you passed so quickly.

Jyoti, female

Jyoti, female

Sweep

Sweeep

Sweep male

Sweep, male

Sadly Sweep, brother of Sooty, two puppies abandoned close to the Sanctuary on 9 August 2023, died suddenly yesterday.  Sooty is still healthy and thriving, but Sweep didn't seem to grow as quickly and was soon dwarfed by his brother.  It's still a shock to encounter a sudden loss like this, but it is not uncommon for some poor soul born on the streets and thrown away carelessly not to make it to adulthood.

We a sorry Sweep you had such a short life, but hope you knew love and care from humans before you passed so quickly.

Alf

Alf

Letting a dog go is never a decision we take lightly. And it never gets easier, no matter how many times we’ve done it.
When we initially found Alf, we assumed his severely swollen leg was due to a hit and run, as is often the case with our rescues. But upon further examination, x-rays showed it was osteosarcoma - bone cancer - that had metastasized to his lungs.

Alf when rescued

Alf when rescued

Alf

Alf

The vet told us he was a candidate for euthanasia, but we’ve had another dog in the past - Honey - with a similar type of cancer, who made a full recovery with chemotherapy.
We decided we wanted to give Alf a chance to fight.

After three chemotherapy sessions we did another x-ray, that sadly showed his cancer had continued to spread. He was also getting weaker by the day. In close consultation with his vet, we knew that letting him pass peacefully was the kindest thing to do.

Alf

Alf

We put Alf to rest Friday 13 October. It breaks our hearts that there was nothing we could do to save him. He was so close to living a new life. We take comfort in the fact that Alf spent his final weeks in comfort, with a full belly, and that he was loved and cared for.

Rest In Peace Alf.  You can read about him on his profile page here.

Lewis

Lewis

Lewis

Lewis

We unfortunately have some sad news - Lewis passed away very suddenly and unexpectedly a couple of days ago.  

Lewis

Lewis

Lewis was rescued from the street with his friend / companion Lois. They were in a really bad state - totally emaciated, riddled with mange and worms and very weak.

Lewis

Lewis

Lois

Lois

Lois sadly passed away the day after we rescued her but Lewis seemed to be recovering.

He had transitioned from isolation after fourteen days and we moved him to the quarantine area with some of our other recovering dogs. He was active, although still very wary of staff. He had actually started playing with some of the younger dogs in the area.  Then a couple of days ago he suddenly collapsed and stopped breathing. We don't know exactly what happened but the suddenness of his death indicates a cardiac arrest. When dogs are emaciated and riddled with worms, a great deal of damage is done to their internal organs that often we can't detect.
Sometimes all we seem to be able to do for these poor souls is give them a safe, comfortable and kind place to pass on. Rest in peace Lewis - we hope you have found Lois again.

Shaun

Shaun

We have always promised that if Shaun's situation was suffering without end we would make the call. Today we made that call.
We had to put Shaun to sleep this morning at 10am, Saturday 30 September 2023.  It may never become clear quite what was causing the immense pain and discomfort he began to feel just over a couple of weeks ago.

Shaun

Shaun on the beach

Last night, when his morphine wore off, he was in absolute agony. He was screaming and writhing in pain. The recommended dose of morphine didn't work. We doubled it. It took 3 hours after that for Shaun to get some respite. When the sun came up we took him outside and we knew we couldn't let him suffer any longer. 

The morphine started to wear off around 9am. We couldn't let him go through the agony of the previous night. Nothing was working and we had no answers.

Shaun

Shaun

We made the decision to let him pass peacefully. It was the hardest decision. Christine held his head in my hands and told him how much he was loved. He passed with so much love surrounding him.
We didn't give up on him. We did what was best for him. We cremated him in the afternoon and have placed his ashes in the clinic.
He was the bestest of boys.
We will name our free clinic The Mighty Shaun Memorial Clinic.  We will provide free treatment in his name and alleviate so much suffering.

Shaun

Run free Shaun. Our hearts are breaking.  You can read more about Shaun and his remarkable resilience against the raw deal life threw at him, and the happy years he spent in our lives, on his profile page here.