Dumaguete Animal Sanctuary

Every Life Matters

RIP

Pluto

Pluto

Poor Pluto was an example of neglect on a monstrous scale.  A police investigation is underway to attempt to bring justice for Pluto, who died on 17 January 2023 of a cardiac arrest.

Pluto

Pluto

The vet tried to resuscitate him for 30 mins using epinephrine but he couldn't be revived.
We knew saving him was a long shot but we had hopes that he would recover and live in one of the wonderful homes that had been offered to him.
When dogs are neglected and starved as he was, the damage done to the heart and other organs can be considerable.  He was also struggling with sepsis from all the wounds over his body.

Pluto

Pluto

It's a cliche we know, but at least he felt care, ate the best food which we prepared for him ourselves, and was very much loved.  He touched the hearts of so many people around the world, not least our own.
A case is being filed against the owner but we would really need the help of a lawyer familiar with filing cases against owners who are in violation of the animal welfare act.  If any lawyers are willing to help pro Bono, please message us and help us get justice for Pluto.  We will take him back to the Sanctuary tomorrow for his service.  This is the last video of him - sleeping peacefully.

Khaleesi

Khaleesi

It was with tremendous sadness that we made the decision today to let Khaleesi go.  Her cancers were only getting worse, and different treatments were having no effect.

Khaleesi

Khaleesi

We rescued her just a month ago as she was reported with terrible wounds all over her body. When we brought her to the Sanctuary and had her assessed by the vet we found out that she had multiple mast cell tumors. Unlike TVT tumors, mast cell is extremely difficult to treat. It responds best to a chemo called vinblastin - which luckily we had in stock. After two sessions there was no improvement and there were new tumors popping up.

Khaleesi

Khaleesi

Khaleesi RIP

Khaleesi RIP

We switched to another type of chemo and that also had no effect.  Her cancer was particularly aggressive and there was no way to treat it so we made the decision to end her suffering.  Its always such a hard decision but definitely the right one for poor Khaleesi - its just always difficult to make.
We gave her a lovely service and told her how much she was loved.  Run free Khaleesi.
You can read about Khaleesi's time with us on her profile page here.

Dasher

Dasher

Dasher was found on our regular stray feeding rounds on 24 December 2022.  His hind legs were paralysed and he was dragging them around, and we clearly couldn't leave him where he was.  We took him for x-rays and they showed a complete spinal fracture and also that his intestines were backed up with poop, meaning he had lost the ability to poop and wee on his own.

Dasher

Dasher

These cases are so difficult and it's so very hard to make the decision to end suffering but when making the decision we ask ourselves:


1. Can this dog live a life free from chronic pain?


2. Can the dog wee and poop on its own?


3. Does the dog have the ability to play and move around on its own?

Dasher

Dasher

For Dasher the answer was no to the first two.  Dasher would have experienced on-going pain from the complete fracture and would have required manual evacuation of poop.  We had to let him go.
We are so so sorry Dasher - may you run free and happy.

Lovely

Lovely

This update is a hard one.
We get multiple reports daily of dogs in need of rescue. For many, we give the people who report free Bravecto as most just have bad skin conditions. But for a few, usually hit and runs, we end up having to euthanize.

Lovely RIP

Lovely RIP

Our criteria for euthanasia is NEVER financial or space. It's always about quality of life for the dog.
All dogs we rescue are suffering but if their suffering will have no end, we put them to sleep.
We don't usually post about these cases as we don't want to burden our followers with the extreme sadness that making this decision carries.
We always discuss prognosis with our two vets, Doc Pierre and Doc Gama.
In the end it comes down to, can this dog play, move around pain free, interact with other dogs, poop and wee on their own? If no, we end their suffering humanely.
We had such a case last night. A dog was reported 2 hours away from us. People in the area made the effort to bring her to the shelter and we took her for X-rays today.  She had a severe complete
spinal fracture, which we can't fix here. Also she was not able to poop and wee on her own and X-rays showed the back up of poop in her colon. She would not have any quality of life so we made the difficult decision to put her to sleep.
Sometimes this is all we can do. We called her Lovely.
We are so sorry Lovely that you had to suffer.
Rest in peace sweet girl.

Bilbo

Bilbo

We have some really sad news. Bilbo passed away this morning.  He stopped eating last night and his temperature dropped to 34 degrees.

Bilbo RIP

Bilbo RIP

Alvin gave him a hot pack and managed to bring it back up to 37 degrees but then he went into respiratory distress and his heart stopped at around 0830am this morning.  Our night staff were with him the whole night stroking him and talking to him.  Bilbos kidneys were too diseased by the time we found him, there was nothing we could do except give him love and comfort in his final weeks.  Sometimes that's all we can do for these poor neglected souls.

Bilbo

Bilbo

We know he was happy and comfortable with us eating whatever he wanted and getting so much love.  You can read about Bilbo's last few weeks with us here.