From her one eye the moisture was completely gone. The other eye was bulging and she was in a lot of pain. She could not see anymore. We tried to save one eye so that she could still retain some vision but unfortunately we couldn’t manage and both had to be removed. In particular given that she was in so much pain and due to this was in bad shape, it seemed like the best choice. It was a difficult procedure and although she needed some time to recover we noticed that she felt relieved and soon started to eat again. She was finally free from the pain.
When she had recovered a few weeks after the operation and the sutures were out, Mirjan, one of Rescue Paws’ rescue workers and her caregiver felt some weird bumps on her stomach, in particular near her nipples. Research at the vet confirmed our fears, Suusje also had mammary tumors. Mammary tumors mainly arise when a female dog has had multiple litters. With every pregnancy the chance of mammary tumors increases. It could clearly be seen that Suusje had many litters. Given the evidence, the only conclusion left to draw was that poor Suusje was used as a breeding bitch and dumped when she was no longer exploitable for this purpose.
Again Suusje had to go under the knife to have all her nipples removed. This was a heavy intervention that was unfortunately necessary for her survival. It took a little longer this time before Suusje to bounce back it but fortunately she recovered again.
Often we are asked: Do you really have to do all this for an older dog? Does this not cost a lot of money? Can you not better spend that on younger dogs? This choice is always difficult for us. Suusje is still fit and very happy, she was so relieved when her eyes were removed and is surely enjoying life. We could not let her down now, especially not after all she’s been through. Thanks to the support of a long-distance owner who pays her monthly costs, Suusje can now continue to live her golden years with Mirjan of Rescue Paws Curacao.
Rescue Paws can certainly use your help to make this possible for other dogs as well. Will you help us to help them? Your donation can make a difference.
Donations: https://www.paypal.me/rescuepawscuracao
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RescuePawsCuracaoFoundation
Translation: Valentina Perdomo
Music Credits:
Whitesand - Awakening
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkZKMVVHdiE
Please share this video with all your friends. Together, we can make people more aware of this problem on the island.
