Sat 30th April: Chance is still waiting for his chance

I have to hand out the heartworm tablets and apply tick prevention in stages as there are too many Lamma dogs to "do" in one go, and having picked quite a few tick "scuttlers" off the dogs recently I needed to start the monthly duties today.   May what is what I usually consider to be the start of the summer season, when all of the insects and spiders come out of hiding and ruin the enjoyment of my woodland walks.  While beating down cobwebs across the paths is annoying, it's the ticks that are the real enemy and tick fever is becoming more and more resistant to the old standby treatments.  In past years one injection of Berenil usually did the trick, but these days it's not having that effect any more and many of the puppies we see coming in with babesia and/or erlichia need a cocktail of drugs to eradicate the disease.   I know that many dog owners try to steer clear of the chemicals that are in tick prevention products but I think you need to weigh the prevention risks against the treatment, and having had two puppies die of a Berenil reaction, not to mention the months of medicine sometimes required, I am definitely in the prevention camp.  Tick fever can kill, and many dogs die every year in Hong Kong because of it, so please take care.

Happy Chance is hoping for a foster home so he can have his heartworm treatment

The three-legged dog, Chance, is still waiting for a foster home so he can have his heartworm treatment, another totally preventable condition that is unfortunately still so common in Hong Kong. He will be at Whiskers N Paws on Sunday in the hope that someone will see how lovely he is and will offer him a temporary place, his problem being that he is such a happy and playful boy that we can't let him go to a home with another young dog who will encourage Chance to jump around.  It's important that after heartworm treatment a dog remains calm and quiet,  as much as possible anyway, so let's see what happens.

Captain and Spock together for ever

I love to be surprised by unexpected adoptions, so I was very happy to receive an email today confirming that Noddy and Jonny, now Spock and Captain, would be staying for ever in their foster home.  These handsome brothers were part of a timid litter, two tan and two white, and now I have just one left.  Robbie was unfortunate in two ways, firstly that he had a stubborn case of tick fever which meant he couldn't go to Whiskers N Paws, and secondly that he was the most timid of all the litter.  Still, three out of four isn't bad when I remember how they hid away in a corner every Sunday just hoping they wouldn't be noticed and that five o'clock would come round quickly so they could go home.

Toby was the first of the litter to be adopted, and on his very first time at Whiskers N Paws