Dog Desk Animal Action CIC

Welcome to our clinic page!

So many dogs come to us in need of help every week. On this page you will find the stories of some of them. The images are graphic so please be mindful of this. There may be scenes of surgery also. When this is the case the vet practice has kindly allowed us to share the images on this page. They retain the copyright.

Our clinic work is powered entirely by the kindness of strangers. If you are able to support the dogs & our work with a donation we would be extremely grateful, thank you

Puppy with Giardia & Parasites

Puppy came to clinic with a swollen tummy & discomfort.

Pup tested positive for giardia & had a heavy parasite load including ticks.

We are told that the pup was dumped at the gate.

As a precaution we have sent spray treatments to the shelter to negate any tick risk. This is important as ticks are vectors for babesia, rickettsia & other nasties.

Pup is being treated for his giardia infection & doing well.

Puppy With Canine Coronavirus

A male puppy came to clinic suffering from a prolapse.

The prolapse was due to canine coronavirus

Sadly pups bowel was damaged resulting in a large portion having to be removed.

Puppy has recovered from surgery, treatment continues & we wait & hope that it will be a success.

Male Patient Dragged By Car

A male patient came in to clinic with large areas of missing skin & necrotising lesions.

He has been tied to a car and dragged along the road.

The patient began treatment right away. Healing will be a long & worrying process. He will need skin grafts.

We believe that every dog deserves a name. Two of our lovely supporters have named this patient Robbie Soul.

Hit & Run Puppy

This patient came to us after being hit by a car.

She had abdominal & chest injuries, broken bones & an infection.

Her broken bones are long standing injuries resulting in reduced blood flow to her paw which has a worrying area of necrosis. The vet team is working on preventing muscle death as a priority.

She also has a heavy worm infestation.

The UK team named her Bunny.

Our vet team are battling to stop muscle death so that Bunny does not lose her leg. This is the most pressing concern for Bunny at the moment, along with the raging infection.

To add to our girls problems she also has mange as seen in the final picture

Please check back as we will be updating Bunny’s progress here as vet reports come in.

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Village Community Dog With Large Pendulous Neck Mass

Recently our dogs played host to 370 community dogs from the surrounding villages. The dogs came up to the clinic to be spayed & neutered & use our recovery facilities. The dogs stayed with us for 5 – 7 days depending on age & healing speed before being returned to their villages. On return each dog was chipped to it’s village & given a person of responsibility.

One of the dogs who came to visit was a large male shepherd mix who has been named Yogi.

Yogi has a large pendulous mass hanging from his neck. The mass was clearly causing him some discomfort. After debate between the vets it was decided to remove it. Yogi will stay under our care & not return to his village. He is a friendly, well-mannered dog who gets along with the pack.

Nilufer reports that Yogi’s surgery went according to plan with no immediate complications. He is in recovery at the moment & will move to a medical block kennel once he is sufficiently recovered & healed.

Male Hit & Run Patient

Very small breed male came in with obvious injury to leg & problems with weight bearing & walking. The patient was bleeding internally & found to have an infection on examination.

Patient was treated for the infection.

X-rays revealed that the patient had a break in the pelvis.

The patient has surgery.

Recovering well

Discharged & now with a foster, we are paying for his care & he is visited every day by Nilufer.

Male Dog Bullet Wound

Male dog came in with what looked like a clean bullet wound. Hair around it was absent, also missing in patches elsewhere on the patients body.

The patient was found to have a very large abscess internally with necrosis. Dead tissue was removed & a drainage tube put in place. Antibiotics were prescribed.

Two holes in the skin were seen & most likely the cause of the internal abscess. Typically penetration marks left by the upper canines of another dog. The patients prognosis was thought to be poor.

The patient remarkably, made very good progress. Tissue is already being made to fill the space left by the abscess. The patient was eating & drinking very well and quickly mobile. In this image you can see the drain, he also had a canula. Notice the scarring on his skin, most likely cause is fighting with other dogs. The patient is placid & dog & human friendly. The end of his tail appears to be missing.

The patient will be discharged shortly returning to have 5 staples removed. Virtual adoptions and sponsors are non existent at present. Michelle Robertson has taken on the role of adoptive parent and named him Frank.

Female Dog Hit By Car

A female dog came to clinic following a hit & run incident in the town witnessed by several passers by.

Supporters named the dog Honey as we were not sure that she would survive her injuries.

On presentation Honey was clearly in distress. She had a swollen bleeding arm.

Tests revealed damage to her lungs and internal bleeding in addition to a break in the arm.

Her arm was splinted & she was taken to ICU for stabilisation. We were unsure if she would survive the night.

She is still in ICU & while Honey is not out of the woods yet she is stable.

UPDATE

Honey rallied and left ICU for a clinic kennel but unfortunately developed an infection. She is on antibiotics & a 21 day wait. Hopefully her leg can be saved.

Abandoned Sick Dog

This male dog was found abandoned in a nearby location in poor condition & distressed.

He was originally placed under the care of another organisation & treated locally.

His poor condition was not due to starvation. He tested positive for anaplasmosis. A course of antibiotics began. He was not under our care at that time.

The dog had nowhere to go so was given a private kennel at the shelter. We paid for his food although he did receive a few cans from the organisation responsible for his care.

He settled well but failed to gain weight.

We stepped in & asked that he be taken to our vet. It was discovered that he was not receiving the correct dosage of medication. This was adjusted.

He was transferred over to our care.

We were initially concerned that his infection may have been antibiotic resistant. Thankfully that does not appear to be the case. His weight gain is slow but sure. He is staying with our vet for close observation.

We expect him to make a complete recovery

Hit & Run Victim

Shelter project workers were called to a puppy approximately 16 weeks old. The male puppy had been hit by a car & dragged himself into the bushes.

Puppy had a broken leg and multiple wounds and abrasions from the impact and the effort made to drag himself to a place of safety.

He was bleeding profusely from his wounds.

Puppy was treated for shock & internal bleeding.

His wounds were closed with sutures.

Appropriate action was taken to reset the broken bone & a full blood panel was taken.

Puppy has been virtually adopted and named Ajax. He remained at the clinic for observation.

Within 12 hours Ajax was able to stand & had a hearty appetite.

UPDATE

Puppy Ajax is healing well for the most part. His wounds were many and difficult to treat. Sadly, as we thought he has lost two of his toes. This won’t cause him any long-term issues, he will adapt and compensate for the loss with no major difficulty.

The worst of his wounds is shown & as you can see it is healing. He is at the clinic in the city with our excellent vets who are nursing these open wounds. We will continue to keep you updated as we receive reports.

UPDATE

Ajax has been discharged from clinic & will go to medical block today. His wounds have sufficiently healed. Treatment will be ongoing to promote the final stages of healing.

This male terrier type dog came to clinic with a splinter of wood embedded in his penis. It had been there for some time causing an infection. The patient was treated for the infection and the splinter removed.

Patient recovered completely.

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Dogo Mix Admitted With Corneal Issues & An Undescended Testicle

A Dogo mix was found abandoned in the shelter garden. He was nervous & very hungry. His physical noted a corneal problem & an undescended testicle.

He was prescribed drops for the corneal issues.

It is a legal requirement in Turkey that banned breeds including the Dogo Argentino are spayed or neutered. The undescended testicle made this lovely lads surgery a little more difficult but it was successful thanks to the skill of our vet.

Treatment costs were £126.24, kindly covered by Helen Monday’s #MoveItForDogs skydive. Many thanks also to everyone who donated.

Three Patients Admitted With Giardiasis Test Positive For Corona

Three adult patients were admitted with watery stools. They tested positive for giardiasis & corona.

Giardiasis is caused by a protozoan parasite picked up by dogs from contaminated ground or water.

All three dogs responded well to treatment & are now recovered.

Three Patients Test Positive For Parvovirus

Parvovirus is a highly contagious illness which causes severe gastrointestinal disease in dogs, particularly puppies. It can be fatal It affects the immune systems of dogs. The virus causes fever, vomiting & diarrhoea, often with bloody stools.

Three dogs came in to clinic with parvovirus over a 5 day period, unusually one of these dogs was an adult. Fortunately none of the dogs entered the shelter & the shelter worker initiated measures to prevent transmission to other dogs.

Parvovirus can be expensive to treat as intense nursing & supportive treatments are the only line of defence against this dreadful disease. Without medical intervention almost all affected dogs die.

All three dogs recovered with only one needing to return to clinic with unusual gait.

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An orphaned male puppy came to clinic with an orbital fracture & the eye popping out.

In most cases of fractures of this kind blunt force trauma has been the cause.

The eye was removed & the fracture repaired.

Puppy was discharged to our isolation unit for recovery. This is needed because his immune system is weak.

He is eating well & recovering from his surgery as expected.

*****TRIGGER WARNING GRAPHIC IMAGES***

Shortly after Maya came to clinic a male dog arrived with the same injuries.

His skin was burnt from hip to neck all along one side. After examination it was determined that he had also had boiling water poured over him just like Maya, most likely from the same person.

Treatment began right away following steps which were taken to heal Maya & control her pain.

We are happy to say this was a success.

The patient continues to do well with medications for pain & skin treatments.

The patient is also being treated for an eye condition.

Maya’s story *****TRIGGER WARNING GRAPHIC IMAGES***

Everyone involved in the project was completely shocked & sickened when Maya was found lying on the side of the road.

She was lifeless & clearly in a huge amount of pain. She had a vast area of skin missing, from her neck to her hip all along one side. It looked like she had been in contact with something caustic.

Somebody had thrown boiling water at this beautiful innocent girl. One can only assume that the attack was premeditated as nobody carries freshly boiled water around with them. It is likely that Maya was just there & her presence unwanted by someone who doesn’t like dogs.

With the help of the burns unit treatment began right away. Maya stayed at the clinic in Canakkale until she was well enough to be discharged in to the care of our little clinic. She is in a thoroughly clean side room in the clinic & shows no sign of distress at being there.

The two pictures above track her progress. The course of antibiotics & other preventative measures have thankfully been successful at keeping bacterial infection at bay.

She has an ointment that is appied to her skin regularly each day & as you can see she is healing nicely & also very quickly.

Without the project and the homeless animal clinic Maya would have died a dreadful, painful lonely death by the side of the road. Your support is making such a huge difference to so many lives & we cannot ever thank you enough for that.

We have no idea at the moment how Maya will be emotionally following this trauma. She is naturally worried at times but like all of our dogs seems to instinctively feel safe with Nilufer. We will take everything one step at a time for Maya & listen very carefully to her as she makes her final steps to a complete recovery.

Sebastian’s Story

Sebastain is a male terrier who arrived at the shelter in a lethargic condition unable to eat, bleeding from the mouth & had impaired vision.

On examination the patient was found to have advanced oral disease. He had numerous cavities, gum loss, gingivitis & necrosis in the jaw bone.

The patient had 11 rotten teeth removed, gingivectomy & descaling. Unfortunately necrotic bone had to be removed also.

The corneal ulcer was also treated.

It was discovered that the patient also suffers from arthritis so medication was given for that too

Surgery went well & the patient is expected to make a full recovery.

Hope’s Story

Hope is a kangal mix who came to us just after the clinic opened. He was our very first patient. A report came to Nilufer that a car was seen deliberately trying to run over a dog & had hit the dog twice before he escaped the driver.

Hope arrived in a state of shock with internal bleeding. Miraculousy no bones were broken. He was treated for the shock & bleeding by Dr V.

Hope’s x-ray was quite a shock. The film showed bullets fired from two guns embedded in Hope’s rear suggesting that Hope had been shot while running away.

It is not unusual to find a few bullets in the dogs that we care for, but Hope’s condition was truly shocking. His rear is peppered with lead shot.

Unfortunately the people responsible for the attacks on Hope have never been identified and therefore have not faced prosecution. Even if they had been brought to justice we are not confident that they would have received punishment.

It is a very sad fact that many of the dogs under our care have been shot. We discover this when we send them for x-rays due to broken bones or other issues.

Hope appeared in the newspaper of his local area highlighting his condition to spread awareness that abusing dogs in this way is unacceptable.

Hope is still with us recovering from his ordeal. It is possible that at some point he will develop lead poisoning & will need to receive further treatment.

Arthur’s Story

A male shepherd type dog experiencing paralysis in Bilecik district was brought to our attention. He was in obvious distress, struggling to move. Despite numerous calls to action in Turkey nobody was able to help this poor boy.

Bilecik’ten felçli canımız yola çıktı. Tedavisini üstlenen sevgili @DogDeskAction çok teşekkür ederiz. Nakil için bize destek olan @KathrynOgden13 @Lisaeljo @Anne76882585 minnettarız. can dostumuz Ankara Pet Transfer Savaş Bey canımızı teslim etmek için aldı ve yola çıktılar pic.twitter.com/XHdzMYuYBc

— Bağımsız Patiler Derneği-Official (@BagimsizPatiler) May 28, 2022

Our friends in Istanbul arranged for the dog to be sent via pet courier to the clinic where Nilufer & Dr V were waiting to receive him. A kind dog lover came forward to help with the dogs long-term care, they called him Arthur.

Arthur had a very nasty wound from dragging which needed urgent care. It was infected. The wound was cleaned, a course of antibiotics was started & Arthur was given pain relief. He also had mange, treatment began for that also.

Arthurs x-ray shows a total of 10 bullets, this is most likely what has caused the paralysis, we are waiting for Dr V to confirm.

Arthur is an incredibly loving dog, who, despite the trauma he has gone through at the hands of humans is happy to trust & craves love & attention.

It is incredibly humbling to see a dog who has had their ears hacked off with a knife & shot ten times asking for the touch of a gentle hand. We are told he is also a wonderful patient who lets his carers tend to his wound without arguement.

Arthur truly is a wonderful boy.

Billy is an orphaned puppy, the victim of a hit & run. He was found by our friend Efeler who feeds hundreds of dogs in Aydin. Efeler saved the little one from certain death by taking him to an emergency vet & finding a safe place for him off the streets. Without this huge act of kindness Billy would not be with us now. Caring for dogs on the streets in Turkey is very difficult. Dog food is expensive, there are hundreds of hungry dogs to feed & often animal advocates are attacked both verbally & physically for caring for the dogs.

Billy could not stay at the safe house for an indefinite period of time so we offered to take him in at the shelter.

He arrived early in the morning on 24/05/2022 & was taken to Dr V right away.

While the x-ray is worrying we do not berate or shame the vet in Aydin who carried out Billy’s surgeries although we will need to operate again to repair the damage.

There is a fragment of femur which needs to be removed, you can see this on the left hand side as you look at the screen.

You will notice the other femur is pushing against his bowel both reducing the bowel width & creating inflammation which in turn will be causing pup issues when he tries to go to the loo. He will be constipated to some degree, left untreated the blockage would have killed Billy.

Two operations are needed to fix these problems

Billy has a low blood count & is lethargic, Dr V thinks that the pain is causing some misery.

Checking Billy’s gait

Billy will be staying at Nilufer’s home with pain relief & prescription puppy food to give him a bit of a boost. He will be nursed by a suitable experienced person while Nilufer is with the other dogs at the shelter.

Dr V is moving appointments around in his diary to operate on Billy as soon as possible. Please check back for further updates.

Billy Has His First Surgery

Billy had the first of 2 surgeries to repair the damage to his hips. Everything went as expected. he is at home with Nilufer & recovering well

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Pamuk is a dog with some known history, he had been lovingly cared for by an animal advocate in Turkey who we are honoured to call our friend. Like lots of homeless dogs Pamuk came & went, sometimes a couple of weeks would pass while he was away on an adventure but he always returned to his carer who has known him all his life.

Nilufer checks the kennels & the accommodation blocks several times a day for any signs of illness in the dogs. She noticed that Pamuk’s face looked a bit swollen & he had a runny nose. She messaged me to say that she was taking him to Dr V that morning.

The rate of swelling to poor Pamuks face increased as did the discharge from his nose. You will also notice the redness & black areas in his eyes.

Dr V told us that tests confirmed lead poisoning & x-rays showed the presence of bullets in Pamuk’s body. But the bullets & lead poisoning were not the only issues our lovely old boy had been battling with. Dr V could feel a mass in his nose which he aspirated. More x-rays were taken.

The x-rays showed masses in the sinuses, nostril & the roots of many teeth. Many of Pamuk’s teeth were cracked, broken & missing & his gums were oozing. He also had a huge bulge in the roof of his mouth. Pamuk had been living with these problems for a long time. His carer had noticed that his eyes were red but that is all. We suspect that his condition deteriorated rapidly due to the lead poisoning. So many ailments in a geriatric street dog would be very demanding on his body.

The images make his condition look far worse than it was due to the dye used for the aspiration & the bleeding caused by taking a sample for study.

Many of our dogs have very poor oral health. While Pamuk was given suitable food by his carer, she wouldn’t know what he was eating while away on one of his frequent adventures. Our cat Tigger was only 4 when he came to us from Istanbul & had to have a significant number of teeth removed due to eating out of bins in the city.

That bulge in the roof of pamuk’s mouth was a worry & one that kept us awake at night. Dr V had to treat Pamuk’s oral infections with antibiotics & build Pamuk’s strength up before surgery could begin. It was a tense time for everybody. Pamuk is not a young dog, he has just turned nine. We know this because his previous carer has known him since he was a puppy.

I was particularly concerned about Pamuk’s pain control & quality of life while he endured the four surgeries needed to repair the damage the infections and tumours had done to his mouth and nose. Dr V assured me that he was comfortable & as high as a kite the whole time which pleased me greatly. One of the things we love about Dr V is his sensitivity to his patients, sadly not every vet I have met is as considerate.

Pamuk was unable to eat after his surgeries & was tube fed for a time. Ten days later he was able to eat normally & his cone was removed. He still has some healing to do & the fur on his face needs to grow back.

On the streets without a carer Pamuk would have died slowly from the lead poisoning, infection & tumours. With our help he will live the remainder of his life in pain free comfort even if he now has to have a soft diet it is a very small price to pay.

We are delighted that his tumours were not malignant. If they had been the prognosis would have been very poor and we would most likely, after gathering, agreed to let him go peacefully on his way to the bridge.

We are so happy with the outcome for Pamuk & will watch him with a smile when he comes home.

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Orla is one of three siblings known to us as the three golden puppies. You may know that they came to us when we rescued Georgie & her puppies. They had been living in a garbage dump in Iznik. Garbage dump dogs are our biggest worry. They live in human detritus, the filth that we generate & toss away.

Many homeless dogs are attracted to the dumps to scavenge on food scraps while others are deliberately sent there to die by municipalities.

It is absolutely heartbreaking to watch these beautiful souls picking their way through old food containers, lying on dirty nappies & sanitary towels, walking on used condoms, mothers carving out nests for their babies in the towers of rubbish, lining them with plastic bags.

In the UK we talk a lot about the importance of high welfare breeding to make sure that puppies have the best start in life.

I weep when I see what our babies are born in to. No dog should struggle so hard just to stay alive.

Now that I have that off my chest I will talk about our puppy. A female who needs a name & a sponsor. We need sponsors to help us give the pups that fighting chance that they need. Sponsors help us to pay for parasite treatments & vaccinations. Sponsors help us to maintain kennels to give them shelter & decent food to fill their tummies.

A sponsor came forward shortly after this entry and named the puppy Orla.

Orla stopped eating & had the runs, she had a prolapse. Tests were carried out & proved infection with a parasite called giardia most likely picked up from a contaminated water source at the dump. A contagious infection that sometimes causes very little in the way of symptoms & often clears up on its own although reinfection can happen.

Our little one also tested positive for e.canis, spread by the bite of a tick, e.canis is beginning to be the bane of my life. I wonder if there is a dog in the whole of Turkey that hasn’t had it.

Orla had other siblings who were rescued by one of our rescue friends in Turkey. I contacted them right away with the information & they told us that some but not all of the siblings were also affected by giardia. Rubbish dumps really aren’t the best place for pups to be born.

Orla began treatment right away & has picked up very quickly. She is back at home with us & her little family with no more runny bottom or nasty tummy ache.

Her vet bill was £248 which we were able to pay with Medina’s #MoveItForDogs sponsorship money. If you contributed to her fundraiser thank you very much for making our little golden girl better & thank you Medina & dad for doing those extra steps.

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Morris was found to have dirofilaria (heartworm) & ehrlichiosis. Both are easily preventable with monthly treatments. Both diseases cause significant damage to dogs & seen very frequently in dogs who come to the clinic for help.

Please see here for information on canine ehrlichiosis here

The CDC also have an excellent resource on ehrlichiosis which can be found here https://www.cdc.gov/ehrlichiosis/index.html

We needed to treat Morris for heartworm & E.canis & get some weight on him before we could begin to think about fixing his leg. Without treating his other conditions before surgery we would have been putting him in a dangerous position in regard to the operation itself & surgery.

The break in Morris’s leg is old & the bones have fused. Morris will need to have the bone broken again & pinned. Following that surgery he will need a course of physiotherapy at the clinic in Canakkale before he can be discharged in to our care & placed back in to general population.

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Olive was found in a state of shock barely able to walk with concussion & two old bullets retained causing lead poisoning. She had taken a beating to the head resulting in a bleed.

She was hospitalised in ICU, given oxygen, treated for blood loss & concussion.