As a six-week-old puppy, Tuffy had the shock of his young life – having a pot of boiling water thrown on him for chewing on his former owner’s cell phone.
What happened next would have killed most people. Tuffy was thrown from a fourth-floor balcony, onto concrete.
And he would certainly have died had it not been for the “miracles of kindness” that followed.
When 30-year-old designer Yan Yingying saw him lying there, he was on the edge of death. Not thinking twice, she picked him up, determined to help.
Animals Asia vet Emily Drayton said:
“That first act of kindness was that of Ms Yan. She was the one who saw Tuffy lying at the bottom of the apartment building, drenched and scalded. The sight must have been so horrific – and I’m sure many people would have walked past and pretended not to see. But she didn’t. She took Tuffy to a local vet in Chengdu and paid for all his veterinary care. That saved his life.”
But while Tuffy was kept alive, the local vet’s knowledge of how to treat such awful ailments was limited. Ms Yan brought him to the vet’s every day for two weeks – but she soon saw there was no progress. And Tuffy was in terrible pain.
Through an online veterinary advice service called Pet Quest, Ms Yan found Animals Asia. She drove an hour to bring him to Animals Asia’s China sanctuary, with Tuffy held still in a padded box. Tuffy was so weak and wracked with pain, he could barely open his eyes.
Emily said:
“As a vet you are exposed to cases of animal cruelty and neglect. It is never something you get ‘used to’ – but after a while you can become desensitised. You learn to put your emotions aside and focus on what you need to do to help.
“But when I saw Tuffy all of that was completely obliterated. I was shocked and sickened to my core. I could not stop the tears from rising, there was no point. Never had I seen an animal in so much pain.”
Animals Asia is best known for rescuing bears from the bear bile trade. The team has rescued over 570 bears – many of them in the most unimaginable condition, after spending up to 30 years in coffin-sized cages.
Founder Jill Robinson has been present for most of these rescues – but she was still shaken by Tuffy’s appearance.
She said:
“When a vet tells you to prepare yourself, you know you’re going to be in for a shock. But nothing prepared me for this pathetic little form shivering on his towel in the recovery cage, after being brought to our hospital in Chengdu. A tiny naked pup, with a red raw body that looked like a huge blister, looking out at the world with the misery of an animal who couldn’t understand why he had been punished with pain.”
Mandala Hunter-Ishikawa, now a vet at Animals Asia’s Vietnam sanctuary, was working in China at the time. Along with Emily, she led the rescue effort. She said:
“The big question upon seeing Tuffy was – was it too late?
“We asked ourselves – had he used up all of his energy and everything he had to get this far? Do we have to make a decision for him to end his suffering? What can we do? My colleague and I discussed it, and we both strongly felt he needed a chance.”
After the initial diagnosis, the team was faced with another difficult choice.