Weds 5th April: Opal and Emerald will always be sisters

Young pups are cute, but also vulnerable

I was reminded of something today that keeps coming up but which I regularly forget about until it happens again.  It's very simply that young puppies, just like human babies, have immature immune systems that leave them vulnerable to infections that older puppies and dogs can handle, and as a result diarrhoea is very common in baby pups, especially those moving to new homes.   In this particular case it was the beautiful fluffy pair taken last Sunday for trial adoption who developed upset tummies and as a consequence they were taken to the vet and ultimately returned.

I can't blame the foster parents for not being able to handle apparently sick puppies, in fact it's me who needs to be very clear to everyone who wants to foster or adopt very young babies that these types of things are not only common, but almost to be expected.  The puppies in this case will be fine, but every vet visit costs HKDR money and with this pair there were two vet clinics involved as well as unnecessary tests.  Our monthly vet bills are extremely high, and while of course all dogs and puppies receive the treatment they need regardless of the cost, it's frustrating to have to pay for something that could easily be dealt with in-house.

Dylan was another tick fever puppy

The past year has also been a bad one for tick fever, both in terms of the puppies themselves and the very high cost of lengthy treatment as well as the fact that we can't home these pups until they are better.  Ticks have developed immunity to both the traditional flea/tick prevention and the standard treatments, so while in the past all tick fever puppies would be given an injection of Berenil and that would be sufficient, it's just not working any more.  We currently have three (or more) puppies staying at our Ap Lei Chau Homing Centre that have been with us for quite a long time, and although they are finally ready to be adopted it's been a long haul, with regular blood tests and ongoing treatment.  Luckily these pups are small-sized so even at a few months old they are still very adoptable, but it's frustrating to say the least.

Emerald's human family is closely related to Opal's

Older puppy Opal was picked up from her foster home by her new adoptive family and she is now called Peanuts.  Apart from being very happy about any adoption of course, I was doubly pleased to learn that Opal-Peanuts and her sister Emerald will be be in regular contact as their respective adopters are related.  I'd wondered why Opal had been chosen without having met her new family at Whiskers N Paws, but all is now clear.

We won't be seeing Opal at Whiskers N Paws again