In February 2020, FOUR PAWS launched an island-wide mission with our local partner Animal Rescue Cambodia. We came across some very serious cases that required emergency treatment. One of them was Ginou, who suffered from an extremely enlarged abdomen that was filled with fluid. He had difficulty breathing because there was so much fluid in his abdomen, compressing her chest and lungs. The owner was worried sick about his beloved pet and, out of desperation, gave him human deworming tablets, in the hope that it would decrease the size of the abdomen.

He was severely anaemic and on the ultrasound, we believed he had a severely enlarged spleen, most possibly due to a tumour. We had to take him off the island immediately to a veterinary clinic, as we didn't have the necessary equipment to treat him at our mobile clinic.

He needed surgery for an abdominal exploratory, and potential tumour removal or splenectomy depending on what we find. The prognosis for his survival was 50/50.

Ginou is a really sweet boy who won the hearts of the whole team.

Ginou received full bloodwork and IV fluids at the clinic, and was treated with intensive oral antibiotics for a suspected infection with blood parasites, the size of his abdomen drastically decreased. Given his clinical improvement, we decided to not take him to surgery. Instead, he will be returned to his owner with continued oral medication.

Today, Ginou was returned to his owner on Silk Island after successful treatment off-island in Phnom Penh. Over the last month, he made an amazing recovery. As you tell by the photos, he was beyond excited to be reunited with his family, and his family felt the same. Ginou had a big smile on his face!