Tues 24th May: A day of drama

Francine

I wrote yesterday that we were taking in four new dogs from AFCD Sheung Shui, and they were picked up first thing.  The two larger adults were dropped off at Tai Po before the French bulldog and puppy went to Kennedy Town, and as soon as I saw the photo of now-Francine I knew something wasn't right.  We'd been told that she'd been surrendered to AFCD with heartworm and ascites (fluid in the abdomen) and that the heartworm had been treated (which is very unusual in itself), but I could see that the stomach was very bloated.   Luckily Acorn had a cancellation which allowed us to send Francine in almost immediately, and unfortunately she's really quite sick.  A cardiac scan was arranged for the evening, and drainage of the abdominal fluid to be done on Wednesday morning (I just learned that a litre of fluid was taken). 

Sarah came to us with puppies (all adopted)

Although Francine was lucky to be able to get to a vet very quickly, the emergencies almost always happen late in the afternoon, just when you think you can start to wind down a bit.  In this case it was a Lamma dog that needed to be rushed over to see a vet, one of the ex-Ap Lei Chau Homing Centre office dogs that had nowhere else to go when we were forced to move out.  Sarah had come to us with her three puppies, and she was incredibly shy, in fact quite terrified at first.  Over time she started to relax and accept that the humans weren't going to hurt her, but she's still not a dog that likes to be touched.  This makes everything a lot more challenging, something I know from many of my Lamma dogs when they need to see a vet, but by the time Sarah ended up at Concordia via ALCVC, she was in shock and relatively quiet.  She had initially been suspected of having GDV , commonly known as bloat, but thankfully the stomach hadn't twisted even though it was full of gas - and debris.  I won't go into the frantic messaging and calls that went on before Sarah was able to get to Concordia, but it was a big relief once she was on her way (and thanks to our dedicated driver Ming who stayed late so he could drive Sarah to wherever she needed to get to).

Gastric Dilatation-Volvulus (GDV)

The two adults that arrived today and both young at only a year old, and very friendly, with one looking very much like a golden retriever (type).  I suspect Beau will find a home very quickly, while Jax may have to wait a while, especially as he has a patchy coat that will probably need treating.

Beau is very much like a golden retriever

It will come as no surprise to hear that there are more puppies in need of foster homes, not newborns this time but seven youngsters.  If you can help, please email Cindy at foster@hongkongdogrescue.com, thanks. 

7 puppies waiting for foster homes

Jax's skin isn't great, but he's a lovely dog