Tues 3rd Oct: An unwelcome emergency

Halo is obsessed with hunting snakes

I am luckily very rarely ill and I still don't know what was wrong, but I was struggling to get through today from the moment I got up to when I finally collapsed into bed, and having to deal with my Lamma dog Halo's emergency treatment for a cobra bite wasn't what I needed.  It was a long-overdue event as I've written about Halo's obsession with finding and killing snakes before, and she's previously tackled many cobras without incident - for her anyway, as the snakes end up dead.  I usually witness the sighting, attack and fatal thrashing, but today's walk was such an ordeal for me that all I could think about was getting home and I didn't notice anything until I came across the dead cobra on the way back.  Even then it never occurred to me that Halo had been bitten, but I got a call in the afternoon from a helper to say that Halo wasn't well.  I recognised the symptoms because one of my other dogs, Ottilie, had also been bitten by a cobra, so I asked that she be ferried over immediately and sent our driver, Sing, to meet the sampan and bring her to Acorn where I was waiting.

By the time Halo arrived at Acorn she was already barely conscious, panting heavily with eyes bulging, and I have to thank Dr Tony for his immediate action and am very grateful for his experience in knowing exactly what to do.

I had to leave Acorn and Halo as there was a new golden retriever that needed to be taken to Tai Po, but Dr Tony messaged me later to let me know that the antivenin had worked and Halo was already looking much perkier, and she could go home in the morning.  I'm sure she'll be back to hunting snakes again, although it would be nice to think she had learned a lesson.

Amber is 5 years old and appears to be in good health

I had taken the golden retriever from AFCD when I was there with a collection of ex-breeder dogs to have their rabies vaccinations and expired licenses updated.  I was told the she had been surrendered as her owner was moving to public housing, and that she was a very lovely and friendly dog, which she certainly is, and at only five years I was sure she'd quickly find a home.  I hadn't planned to take any new dogs out, especially larger ones, but with the holiday coming I didn't want to leave the retriever there any long than necessary.

It took a matter of seconds for Dr Tony to diagnose lymphoma, and when I felt the lymph glands myself it was easy to see why as they were huge.  The poor girl had obviously been dumped because she had an aggressive form of cancer and it had nothing to do with any move.  There were two options, the first to have the dog euthanised and the second to treat with chemotherapy.  Under normal circumstances I don't choose to treat cancer in any dog unless it can be surgically removed, but lymphoma is the one cancer that responds well.  It's not a cure rather a life extender, but in this case I thought it was worth it.  Some lymph cells were aspirated for testing and confirmation, but Dr Tony was confident in his diagnosis and the weekly chemotherapy will begin in a few days.

It would be wonderful if the retriever, now Amber, could be in a foster home for the duration of her treatment, or even the rest of her life.  Chemotherapy will give her another year or eighteen months, and at the moment Amber is looking and behaving like any loving and happy dog should.  She has the typical golden retriever personality, and was asking for petting from everyone in the Acorn waiting room.  The treatment is expensive and it's a difficult choice to make in terms of funding, as we are also facing very large vet bills for all of the breeder dogs that are pouring in as they all need desexing and dental treatment as the very minimum, and many require much more. 

On Wednesday we are taking in a bulldog and a bichon followed by the ten schnauzers and an additional doberman on Thursday, with more ex-breeder dogs almost certainly to follow.   Donations towards the veterinary care and treatment of these dogs would be very much appreciated, and you can pay directly into our HSBC account 502-423825-001 Hong Kong Dog Rescue (HKDR) if you are able to help. Thank you.

If you can help with fostering Amber or any other dogs, please contact Cindy at foster@hongkongdogrescue.com, and thanks as always to our wonderful supporters.