An elderly dog rescued off the streets of Singapore has undergone major spinal surgery as a result of old and new injures to its spine and is urgently seeking blood donations for a transfusion, as his red blood count is very low.

The dog, Zeus, which is about 15 years old and cannot walk on its own, was brought for surgery on March 27.

5-hour surgery on spine

According to a Facebook post on Saturday, the day of the operation, at least S$20,000 was estimated to be needed just for preparing to operate on Zeus and then taking care of him post-surgery.

The surgery by two veterinarians started at around noon on Saturday and lasted for more than five hours.

Volunteers stepped up to take care of dog

By the time it was done, and when Zeus was brought back to another vet to undergo observation, it was past midnight.

The people involved in transporting Zeus were volunteers.

An update post on Sunday just past midnight said that the outcome of the surgery is not immediately known but Zeus was diagnosed to still have strong bones for his age.

"Although it was a spinal surgery, the vet went in via the throat because the back had too many muscles to penetrate," the post said.

The post also said the vets commented that Zeus’ bones were "extremely strong" for a 15-year-old dog.

The vets also said Zeus had encountered a few traffic accidents during his days as a stray because there were new and old injuries to his spine.

The old wounds, the vets said, have caused some of Zeus' bones to fuse, which was not a positive development.

Condition deteriorating

Before Sunday noon, Zeus' condition was said to have been deteriorating.

Past 4pm on Sunday, Zeus' condition was observed to be getting worse as his red blood count was crashing.His red blood count was at 27, when the normal is 35 and above.

At one point his red blood count dropped to 14.

Call for dog blood donors

A call for dog blood donors was made at about 5:40pm on Sunday.

In critical condition

On March 29, at about 1am, the update on Zeus' condition said he was in critical condition and no dog blood donors had come forward.

All photos via Hope Dog Rescue