The dog whose leash is so tight that its head swells to twice its normal size has made an amazing transformation after a period of treatment.
A poor dog with a swollen head twice as usual was found wandering on Baitang Street, Putian City, Fujian Province, Southeast China.
Local residents believed it was injured and called the Putian City Animal Welfare Association.
This association then sent volunteers to bring the dog home for inspection. Volunteers named the dog Datou, which means Big Head, because of its worrisome condition.
A dog with a bulging head sitting sadly on the side of the road attracts the attention of locals
Footage shared on the Animal Welfare Association’s Douyin account shows Datou resting by a wooden bridge. It tries to open its eyes and raise its head while its head is excessively swollen.
Datou struggled to open his eyes with his swollen head twice its original size
When the volunteers found the dog, they discovered a red leash wrapped so tightly around its neck that it was deeply embedded in its skin. A volunteer gently held Datou’s head and removed the leash in the hope of relieving the poor animal’s pain.
Huang Qian, director of the Putian City Animal Welfare Association, told the Daily Star: “We believe Datou was a stray dog from an early age but we are not sure if it was abandoned or missing. The leash was tied tightly and the necklace remained stuck there while Datou grew, gradually tightening more and more around his neck.”
Huang Qian said the rescue team took Datou to the nearby Aibao animal hospital, where veterinarians helped treat the wound. But Datou’s condition made veterinarians and rescuers extremely worried. They couldn’t put the helmet that fixed his head on Datou’s body because of the wound on his neck.
“The vets also found a blood clot in Datou’s brain,” Qian added. “They inject it with anti-inflammatory medication to relieve pain and discomfort before letting the bump heal on its own.”
In a follow-up video, hospital staff shaved the hair around Datou’s neck and cleaned the dog’s wound in the treatment room.
The doctor told Qian that the healing process would take a long time because they couldn’t bandage the wound and Datou continued to lick his wound.
Miraculously, two weeks later, Datou showed the first signs of progress. In the latest clip, the swelling has reduced and the dog’s head appears to have reduced to its normal size.
Datou’s story has been widely shared on Chinese social media and Qian is now hoping to find a new home for it.
“We have received more than 100 applications for Datou but the successful candidate will have to reside in Putian city so that our volunteers can visit Datou and have it checked in the future. I was shocked by the number of people submitting applications because we don’t have many Douyin followers,” Qian revealed.
