HElping Animals Rescue Team (Heart)WE aim to help shine a light on the realities of Kota Kinabalu’s homeless/stray animals and lead the way to a more compassionate world.
They face speeding cars, suffer through untreated illnesses, forage through garbage for their own food, endure the scorching sun and rain with no shelter – it’s a treacherous, lonely existence that often ends far too early. The success stories outweighed the sad ones and we had to be content with saving the ones we could. We’re trying to make the world a better place for homeless /stray animals with no voices of their own.
If there is one canine disease which strikes fear into our minds of Heart’s rescuers it is canine distemper. It is a serious condition which spreads rapidly through infected individuals and can affect many internal functions. If left untreated canine distemper can be fatal and even dogs who survive can be left with life-long ongoing symptoms.
Our current rescue for the past two weeks is battling with highly contagious Canine Distemper Virus! Canine distemper is a dangerous and highly contagious viral disease transmitted by contact with an infected animal! There is no cure for the disease, only treatment for the symptoms as its body fights the virus. Many street dogs in Kota Kinabalu, Penampang, Putatan to name a few catch the virus and only the strong survive, most with residual neurological symptoms.
On May 12, Heart received a tip about a homeless /stray dog with a severe case of canine distemper virus from Freda who’s a kind-hearted animal lover. She let the Heart team know that the dog was whining in pain and needed urgent medical treatment.
According to Jesse, the owner of Yummy cafe at Austin park, she first saw this pooch, she had collapsed under the scorching sun on the side of the road unable to stand.
When HEART approached her, her tail wouldn’t stop wagging. We wanted to give a second chance to the pooch that was very sick and helpless. Nothing brings us more happiness than watching sick animals getting to run again. The streets of Kota Kinabalu can be tough on homeless /stray dogs and many out there that will never have a second chance at life. Fortunately for this pooch we named her Austina, she received a happy ending in place of what was certain to be a devastating result. Found lying in the street, this pooch was unable to stand but immediately looked so sweet and happy that someone was coming to help her. All she could do was wag her tail enthusiastically as we filmed her.
She had canine distemper, which is often fatal within 14 days. Canine distemper can affect several body system of the dog including respiratory and gastrointestinal. But the homeless/stray dog had a strong will to live. Our hearts broke into pieces.
She was inflicted with some serious viral illness which can be contagious. We can’t describe how we felt when we saw the condition in which we found her. She looked fatigued, had laboured breathing, muscle tremors, eyes and nasal discharge, coughing and was found drooling, hyperkerstosis (thickening of the skin) on her nose and paw pads, all painting a deadly picture of her health. Unfortunately all veterinary clinics had denied emergency treatment to the pooch Austina amid the distemper virus. We’re so happy that this pooch was given a second chance at life.
We rushed to the nearby clinic where she got treated outside the vet clinic. The veterinarian treated the pooch with antibiotics and IV fluids. We put her in a cage at the Yummy cafe and asked our volunteers to administer medications daily and monitor her progress. Supportive care is the only treatment available for Austina. This includes IV fluids, steroids, anti-seizure medications and medications to help control vomiting, diarrhea and antibiotics injections to treat secondary bacterial infections.
For the sake of the sick pooch we put our lives on hold to care for our sick. Therefore, a rotating crew of Heart members and volunteers takes turns caring for her. We are experienced, we have routines and schedules.
To Heart’s rescuers, volunteers, good Samaritans and the owner of the Yummy cafe thank you so much for lending a helping hand to our furry friend. To the owner of the Yummy cafe we are very happy to have his premises used to accommodate our sick pooch. Thank you for saving another life. You all work wonders!
We receive NO government funding and rely on the support and kindness from our community, private donations and charity bazaar to complete our mission. Heart does not euthanize animals to make space to house others. We are a no-kill animal welfare group and work to preserve life whenever possible.
We rely on donations from people like you who are willing to spend their hard-earned money to help animals in dire needs.
If you would like to help to donate for Austina’s medical expenses please send your money to:
CIMB BANK BERHAD
Account no.
70 3762569 4
ROSLI @ ROSLEE BIN ABBAS
DONATE - AUSTINA
And every ringgit helps! Thank you in advance for your generous, big and small (and no donation is too small).!
Have a heart. Donate
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