Merry & Pippin, greyhounds left on the highway

Meet Merry & Pippin - ex-racing greyhounds, brothers, abandoned on the Hume Highway in Sydney

Backstory

A few weeks ago, these brothers were found on the Hume Highway, lost, without a name or microchip, myself and my partner Kai brought them into our home.

We immediately noticed they had sores on their backside and legs, tops of their ears had lost all the fur and were scabbing, and were very thin and frail.

The next few days involved called GWIC (Greyhound Welfare) to try and track down the owner by using their ear tattoos. A high-priority investigation was put in place and in a couple of days the owner was found and told the GWIC investigator that their gate had accidentally been left open and the dogs ran out. So, my phone number was given to them to arrange collection and we waited for them to call.

They never did.

After the first 24 hrs of waiting, we had a sinking feeling these dogs weren't 'accidentally' let out and after 3 days, we finally got the owner's number and he admitted to not wanting them anymore.

Knowing how tumultuous their past must have been, we took them under our wing and showered them with love. As a result, over the past few weeks, their personalities have really shone through.

Much like the Hobbits from Lord of the Rings they are named after...

Merry is more placid, calmer, more greyhound-esque.

Pippin is more energetic, playful and goes bonkers for food.

They are both so gentle towards all, humans, dogs, birds, no matter how big or small.

How Pippin Ate Glass

To our dismay, yesterday afternoon when we left for work, we had put a discarded glass jar into the recycling bin on the bench, not realising it had remenants of food inside. Pippin, the adventurous boy he is, pulled the entire contents down to the floor, breaking open the jar and started licking.

Unfortunately, he also licked small shards of glass that ended up in his digestive tract and started vomiting blood. When we got home and realised, we immediately rushed him to the vet where we were then referred to the emergency vet.

Here, Pippin underwent extensive imaging where it was found that all the glass was now in his stomach. He was discharged on the premise he would need to eat bread and asparagus as well as various prescription medicine to flush out the system.

The entire evening, Pippin was a shell of himself, lethargic and completely not interested in food.

Unfortunately, his condition did not improve in the morning. We have now taken him back to the vet, this time for him to stay overnight where they will administer more medication. We can only pray that Pippin will fight this through.

All of this however, has added up an incredible cost:

Emergency consult/imaging: $1315 (receipt below)

Overnight stay/drug administration: $1200

Additional imaging: $800

UPDATE: After taking the boys to the vet, we have also been advised to undergo extensive dental work (around $1500 per dog).

This does not include any of the initial and ongoing costs we have put in to acquire new beds, deworming, leads, toys, endless amounts of food. Because we did not foster the dogs through organisations like GAP/Homebound Greyhounds, everything has come from our pocket.

We are still looking for a fur-ever home for these two boys, but in the meantime, any help in nursing Pippin back to health would be an enormous help.

Thank you, truly,

Sarah, Kai, Merry & Pippin