Thurs 20th Dec: A sad day

These beautiful babies are no more

It wasn't a happy day for me today as the second baby pup that I'd been nursing at home lost her fight for life while I was at the vet with Murphy (having the stitches taken out after his eye removal).  This was the litter of six very young babies that we took in, and somehow they were infected with something unknown, probably a virus although all tests came back as negative.  Such young pups should be with their mother and still suckling, and while we would usually find foster homes quite easily, at this time of year it proved to be very difficult.  In the end I took a pair home with me so they could be fed and cleaned during the night, but by then they were already refusing most food and had no natural strength or resistance to fight.  The only two surviving pups are the pair that went to a foster home immediately, and they are doing well. 

In the early days of HKDR infectious puppy diseases like parvovirus and distemper were common, and there would be regular outbreaks which decimated whole litters.  I became quite used to looking after sick pups and there are a good number of parvovirus survivors still living with me on Lamma.  Distemper is another matter, and it's a horrible virus that stays in the system even when the obvious symptoms have cleared.  Puppies that seemed to have recovered would suddenly die, or be left with nervous system disorders like bobbing heads and wobbling gait.

It's been a very long time since we've seen parvovirus or distemper in our puppies, many years in fact, and I hope I never have to deal with either again.  This latest litter was a horrible reminder of what used to be a regular event, and I can only think that it's thanks to education about the importance of vaccinating puppies that such diseases aren't such an issue any more, although they still pop up in the New Territories and the puppies that are born to unvaccinated mothers.  Most adult dogs have developed a natural immunity to these infectious diseases or have long-term immunity from being vaccinated when young,  but puppies are very vulnerable, especially if taken too young from their mother.

If you are able to foster young puppies in the future please let our Foster Coordinator, Cindy, know so she can contact you if and when we have another litter like these babies in need.  Her email is foster@hongkongdogrescue.com.

I keep getting messages asking if we're open and whether we have any special working hours for the Christmas a New Year holidays, so to repeat: We are open every single day of the year from 10am to 6pm, including Sundays, Public Holidays and even T10 typhoons.  You don't need to make an appointment if you're looking for a dog or puppy to adopt but it's helpful for both sides if the Adoption Questionnaire is completed in advance.  You can find the questionnaire (and all other information about HKDR and our dogs)  on our website www.hongkongdogrescue.com (under Adopt).

Murphy now with no eyes

To end on a happy note, Murphy has recovered well from his surgery and is back to his usual self even now having no eyes, being deaf and having also lost his sense of smell.  What a boy!