Thurs 28th Sept: Always living in the moment

This new 5 month girl is super sweet

I'm lucky in a way that my days are so full that I don't have time to stop and reflect on what happened yesterday, and my focus has to be on the day ahead.  There was so much going on today, some planned and other events unexpected, and it started with three new arrivals from AFCD in Sheung Shui.  One was a young puppy, another an older pup and the third a poodle - surprise!

I had booked one of my Lamma dogs in for what I hoped would be minor surgery to remove a lump from between Halo's toes, but a traffic accident and resulting long back-up of cars and lorries meant that our driver took a long time to drive from Sheung Shui to Acorn, and I subsequently postponed Halo's appointment.  Instead I met up with Sing after lunch with pup Gemma from Lamma, and poodle Jiffy already in the van, to go to the vet via AFCD  to check if a small dog that I knew was there was ready for release (it wasn't).  While still in Pokfulam I got a message from Iris that a small pom had been surrendered at the Homing Centre and it seemed to be having trouble breathing, so I went back to Ap Lei Chau to pick the little dog up.

Jiffy was fine by Friday

Finally arriving at Acorn it was Dr Tony on duty, and Jiffy was first up on the table.  She had been straining to pee according to Iris, but Dr Tony suspected it was just soreness from the desexing wound although suggested keeping Jiffy in overnight on a drip just to make sure.

Gemma was there to check her red cell count after having had treatment for tick fever, and was fine to have her second vaccination thank goodness.

Behind the smile Bonnie is very sick

So it was really only the newly surrendered pom, now called Bonnie, who turned out to be seriously ill, and an X-ray showed the poor girl has severe bronchopneumonia and would certainly have died without treatment.   It was the neighbour of the owner who brought Bonnie to us, having seen her and noticing that she was half bald asked the owner about the dog. Being illiterate and uneducated the owner said she had no idea what to do and handed the pom over.   Talk about lucky hair loss, as it was this minor problem that literally saved (I hope) Bonnie's life.  She will have to stay in hospital on heavy duty antibiotics and in a oxygen box for at least a few days, but hopefully the drugs will do the trick.

The new poodle is still nameless at this point

As for the three Sheung Shui additions, the poodle appears to have tick fever, although I should be grateful there's no heartworm.   All dogs that live in the New Territories are at high risk for all insect-borne diseases and unless given the relevant prevention have a good chance of being infected.  (Puppy Gemma was also one of a Sheung Shui litter).

We have another big donation of wine arriving on Friday afternoon, and it was will be available from Saturday at our Ap Lei Chau Homing Centre (or rather the Education Centre across the road). These are high quality wines which we will be selling at $60 a bottle or $500 for a case of ten.  It's first come first served, so drop by any time between 10am and 6pm from Saturday onwards, until we sell out.

Good luck Blinky, and wishing you a speedy recovery

Adorable Blinky is all set to have his knee surgery on Friday, and Dr Tony will be doing both sides at the same time to speed up the process of having two fully working legs.  I love this little dog and his zest for life despite being completely blind, and I know for sure I would bring him home myself in a flash if it wasn't an impossibility.

This weekend will see yet another influx of breeder dogs to our Ap Lei Chau Homing Centre, mostly poodles, and we need foster homes.  Please contact Cindy if you can help with small dogs or puppies, by emailing foster@hongkongdogrescue.com, thank you.