It may be hard to watch this viral video that shows the harsh reality of animal neglect. Harold was skin and bone when he was found wandering the streets in North Oshawa in Ontario, Canada. But now is thriving and just like any other puppy—thanks to his foster carer.
Kayleigh McGovern, a volunteer and team member at Oshawa Animal Services, decided to look after the emaciated dog who was too weak to even walk back in July. She documented his progress and shared a slideshow of images on her TikTok page.
Kathy Pittman-Feltham, the shelter manager told Newsweek: “Harold quickly captured all of our hearts and we were rooting for him to get healthy and find his forever home.”
In the viral video that has 791,800 views, @kayleigh_mcgovern added on-screen text to explain each image. She stated he spent the first three days in bed and he didn’t have the strength to empty his bladder.
She wrote: “We shared many cuddles, watched lots of shows, and most importantly he got lots of rest.”
One image shows Harold’s skeletal body as the on-screen text explains: “This picture is still so jarring to look at. He was examined at the vet for possible causes of his emaciation. The vets concluded the only thing wrong with him was that he was essentially starving to death.”
After a few days of tender love and care, Harold started to feel stronger and became playful. Now four months on, he is just like any other puppy.
Pittman-Feltham told Newsweek: “Kayleigh helped nurse him back to health and he was then adopted by a member of the community who is a second-time adopter from us.
“He is doing phenomenal and is the perfect picture of health.”
Harold’s remarkable transformation has touched the hearts of thousands of TikTok users. But sadly, his situation wasn’t a rare case.
Each year 6.3 million pets are surrendered to U.S. shelters, which is an average of 17,260 a day, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
Around 920,000 surrendered animals are euthanized every year. Shelters are striving to minimize euthanasia rates by promoting adoption campaigns, spaying and neutering programs, and behavior rehabilitation.
Pittman-Feltham told Newsweek: “We see many sad cases come through our doors and the team is always excited to be a part of the next chapter in their story as most times we don’t have any information on their past.
“We are hoping Harold’s story shines a light on the many cases across the rescue world that need our help.
“Fostering saves lives and Harold is a perfect example of that!“
She was abandoned with the largest tumor on her face and suffered for a very long time without any assistance
Meet Honey, This is the poor soul Dumaguete Animal Sanctuary rescued today. Honey was dumped in severe condition with the biggest tumor on her face. She was in discomfort for a long time since she was swollen and infected.
” We are with her now at Animal Wellness getting X-rays to find out if this mass is treatable. Her early blood tests revealed that her organs were working OK, but she is anemic. She was also found to have heartworm.
They will put her on anti-inflammatory for 2 weeks and also work on raising her red blood cell count. She will then require surgery and chemotherapy. She stands a high chance of living a regular, happy life!
She need to do surgery to remove the mass, followed by chemo if it is cancerous. Given the position of the tumour, surgeons will need to do the procedure at Animal Wellness, where they have gas anaesthetic, giving Honey the highest chance of survival.
Her red blood cell count is still low after 15 days in the center, therefore she will have a transfusion. Hopefully, surgery will be performed soon after.
“Day 17: Honey’s operation has just begun. Just before she was sedated, she was photographed with Rina and Rudylyn. We will do the procedure at Animal Wellness since gas anaesthesia is safer for more serious instances. Because the tumor is so close to her brain, the procedure will be lengthy and complicated.
Day 19: Honey’s surgery was as successful as it could be given that the tumor had grown around so many of her facial and optical nerves. Unfortunately, the nerves controlling her left eyelid had to be severed, leaving her with a little droop.
The tumor was huge, and as a result the surgical wound is large. She is eating chicken which is a good sign. She will be able to live a normal life even without it. She is already eating on her own, but her face is still swollen from the operation and inflammation, so doctors are hopeful she will eat more once that subsides.
She is still in the very early stages of recovery from such an invasive surgery, and each day she survives without complications, is a blessing. She made it through the procedure!!! Honey is still deemed critical, but she is awake and breathing.
“We just had the results of Honey’s tumor biopsied and unfortunately it’s malignant. Doxorubicin is the most effective chemotherapy treatment for the type of cancer she has. We must act quickly to halt the spread of any cancer that may still be present in Honey’s system.”
She hadaother tumor in her vagina but the amazing news is that the tumor in her vagina has shrunk by 60 percent since she started chemo and she has only had two sessions so far.
After more than 3 months, she’s gaining weight and is generally in good spirits despite being on chemo. Her prognosis is still uncertain because chemo affects the organs, but we are confident she will recover completely.
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