Peter Smith was visiting Goa with his wife Deborah when they came across a struggling beach dog. This is how Peter changed the life of Eddie when he brought him to our ITC in Goa…
“My wife and I have a history of rescuing dogs and have never had a conventional dog from a breeder, with our two current dogs both rescues. My daughter is also a vet, so animals have been a big part of our lives but we never expected to be rescuing a dog when we went to Goa.
We spent a week in Vagator Beach and most of the dogs look well fed and quite content. However, on our first day there, Eddie appeared and he looked very sad. He was drinking sea water so we decided to get fresh water for him every day and fed him food every night. After a couple of nights, we stopped seeing him, so thought he must have sadly passed away or been taken to a shelter, but on our last day, he came back looking for us and I realised I had to help him. We spoke to some of the local people who told us about the WVS centre nearby. I found some rope and managed to tempt Eddie into a truck in order to get to the centre.
Eddie was exhausted and needed several rests on the way to the truck. He was happy to be lifted in and went to the centre willingly. He had curled up claws, tumours on his underside and was infested with fleas. We knew he needed treatment quickly and were so glad there was somewhere we could take him to get the help he so desperately needed.
We visited him the next morning on the way to the airport and my wife even wanted to take him with us. We’d fallen completely in love with this poor dog, but knew the best place for him at the moment was the WVS centre.”
Since Peter and his family returned home, they have continued to support Eddie with donations to the Goa centre and our Clinical Director in Goa, Dr Karlette Fernandes, has been keeping them informed of Eddie’s progress.
The team suspects Eddie has a curable form of cancer, called a TVT, but his body is currently too weak to cope with chemotherapy. Eddie is currently being treated for his other conditions, and along with plenty of healthy food, will be ready to start chemotherapy in the coming weeks. Thanks to the quick thinking of Peter and his family, Eddie is set to make a full recovery!