A dog lover from Bengaluru wrote to us about a stray dog who appeared quite peculiar – he always had his mouth open and had a strange twitch on his head. He had contacted a few shelters before approaching VOSD and almost all of them had advised him to euthanise the dog.
Puzzled at their reaction, he asked us for a second medical opinion and our expert panel of doctors confirmed that the pooch was a canine distemper survivor (hence the twitch due to neurological damage). As for the mouth hanging open, it is possible that he was hit on his head or mouth resulting in a condition called “lock jaw” said our doctors.
Since the poor pooch couldn’t eat and was losing weight rapidly, we agreed to accept him into VOSD as a special needs dog who would require lifelong medical treatment and high quality care. ‘Babushka’ was admitted to our partner hospital in the city for a thorough medical check-up after which he was sent to the VOSD Sanctuary & Hospital. He was malnourished and thin as a stick when he came in, so we started him on a high protein diet, digestive enzyme supplements, and multivitamins to help him gain weight. We were surprised to see he had developed a unique method of eating whereby he picks up the food from the side of the bowl and swallows it without chewing!
For a dog who was ill-treated on the streets and even advised against rescuing by medical professionals, Babushka is thriving at the VOSD Sanctuary, which also runs India’s largest specialist referral hospital. Here, dogs which cannot be treated or are refused treatment by others are admitted for lifelong, sophisticated, state-of-the-art medical care.
Babushka is one of thousands of stray dogs who nearly died due to lack of care. To help us bring an ailing, inform, senior, or special needs dog to the safety of the VOSD Sanctuary & Hospital, kindly donate INR 5,000 ($62) one-time or monthly: https://vosd.in/active-campaigns/monthly-expenses/ Your contributions can help save an innocent life!
VOSD is India’s largest non-profit organisation for dogs. Over 20,000 dogs have been rescued by us for over a decade and we admit 300-400 dogs to the VOSD Sanctuary & Hospital annually. We provide the most sophisticated and expensive medical care & rehabilitation services at no cost to stray dogs and abandoned pet dogs. VOSD is a dog’s best friend. To know more about us and support our work, visit https://vosd.in