An animal rescue organization’s offer to pay for the treatment of an unemployed and visually impaired Kaohsiung man’s cancer-stricken dog has gone viral on the Internet.
The owner, surnamed Chung (鐘), sought the help of Animal Rescue Team Taiwan, as he did not have the wherewithal to pay for surgery for his dog, which had a large visible tumor on her right shoulder, organization spokesman Ni Ching-tai (倪京台) said yesterday.
The 12-year-old bitch named “Tony” underwent surgery last week and was discharged on Saturday following a stable recovery.
The dog is to undergo eight sessions of chemotherapy in a bid to stop the cancer returning, Ni said.
The dog’s left hind leg was amputated after a car accident nine years ago, and Chung and veterinarians were worried that the surgery might cause her to lose another leg because the cancer cells were close to nerves.
“Fortunately, the surgery went well and the worst-case scenario did not play out. No metastasis was found, and Tony is now being taken care of by Chung,” Ni said.
Chung, who due to complications stemming from diabetes lost sight in his left eye and whose right eye is severely impaired, has been undergoing dialysis for years and has little source of income.
He lost his job as a mechanic almost two years ago and has had no money to treat Tony, so a friend suggested that he seek the help of the animal advocacy group, he said.
“We will cover the full cost of treating Tony because of the disadvantaged conditions of the owner,” Ni said, adding the total bill came to about NT$100,000.
A short video made by the group posted on Facebook on Tuesday last week showing the plight of Chung and his dog went viral, and had received more than 647,000 views as of press time last night.
“Even though the sum we have raised is far from the NT$100,000 mark, we will still cover the costs of surgery, chemotherapy, medical examinations and nutritional supplements,” he said.
In another video posted yesterday, Tony, wearing a post-surgery collar, was seen standing under her own strength, and Chung thanked the rescue team and netizens who made donations.
The rescue team called on the public to donate toward the veterinary costs of the dog, with information on how to do so available on the organization’s Facebook page and its Web site: www.savedogs.org/english/.
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