Tues 18th Jan: In memory of two thousand little lives

Everyone I know was outraged by the knee-jerk reaction of the government to not only destroy two thousand hamsters (plus other small animals), but to inhumanely insist that hamsters that had been bought in December be taken to AFCD to be killed.  These are almost certainly children's pets, and I assume healthy too. 

I received the following from AFCD:.....   "the Government has decided to humanely euthanise all animals from the concerned pet shop and warehouse, after consulting CHP and various experts.

On top of that, businesses would be temporarily suspended for all the pet shops selling hamsters, and all the hamsters for sale would be removed for COVID-19 testing and humane euthanasia afterwards."

Yes, I'm also very seriously concerned that they will be coming for the dogs and cats next, stopping at nothing to achieve the impossible dream of zero Covid cases. 

Devon almost lost a nose but gained a home

Undeterred by such insanity (in my opinion), we continue to do what we do for the dogs and puppies, and there were two on-site adoptions today, and one behind the scenes that came about as the result of a serious accident.  Foster puppy Devon was attacked by another dog and was rushed to Concordia Pet Care for treatment, with the foster family subsequently deciding they would adopt her (the attacking dog wasn't theirs).  Hopefully Devon will make a full and quick recovery and live a long and happy life.

Apache on the drive to his new home

Larger senior Apache was the very lucky dog chosen to go to his wonderful new home from our Tai Po Homing Centre, and the videos I've been sent show him very happily exploring his spacious new environment. 

Gorgeous Pringle is adopted

Gorgeous small-sized older puppy Pringle was adopted from our Ap Lei Chau Homing Centre by a family who first met him a while ago but had to wait until they moved into a dog-friendly apartment before taking Pringle home.  Happily for them the prospect of potential knee surgery had deterred others from adopting Pringle so he was still available.  

Patella luxation (slipping kneecaps) is really a very common condition in smaller dogs, and the smaller the dog the more likely they are to have problems.  

Schnauzer/poodle Jasper is waiting for his second patella surgery

Teacup sized dogs aren't natural, they are the runts (small weaklings) of the litter, and it's likely that tiny poodle Gyro has syringomyelia, explaining his pain when medication is stopped. Inbreeding and breeding from dogs with known health conditions is standard for breeders, and results in pain and suffering for the dogs born with these inherited conditions.

Tiny Gyro is in constant pain 

"Syringomyelia (SM) in dogs is a relatively common condition that mostly affects Griffon Bruxellois and Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, leading experts to believe it is an inherited disorder. The nature of this disease is that the dog’s skull is too small for his brain, which blocks the opening at the base of the skull and prevents the flow of spinal fluid. Because of this backup of fluid, pockets of fluid called syrinxes are created in the spinal cord which causes extreme pain in the shoulders, neck, head, and chest. They are usually very sensitive to touch in these areas and some dogs show weakness of extremities and possible paralysis."  

Iris and volunteers came over to Lamma today to walk the small dogs and the ex-Ap Lei Chau "Shy Squad". Shown here are three shibas Donny, Damson and Gumbo with Piggy and Dobby.  There were quite a few others joining the outing, and they were all happy to see old friends again.