Thurs 29th Dec: Back to the routine

I'm not sure when this photo was taken as the poodle has hardly and hair now

It was back to work today, and that meant following the well-worn route to AFCD in Pokfulam and then on to Acorn.  I went to the Ap Lei Chau Homing Centre first to pick up the surrendered teacup poodle, who turned out to be a pet shop purchase and not yet licensed.  His now ex-owner said he was a year old, as did the pet shop vaccination card, so he should have had his rabies shot and license some time ago.   Anyway, when I got to the Homing Centre and looked around I couldn't see any poodle, so I asked Kathy where it was.  She pointed to herself and then I noticed a tiny little head peeping out of Kathy's jacket, which when handed over to me I could see was attached to a even tinier and emaciated body with just a smattering of hair cover.  It was hard to believe that this miniscule creature was a dog, let alone an adult, and all I could do was tuck it into my own top and carry him just like Kathy had.

When it came time for the poodle to have his rabies vaccination it was hard to find any part of his body that wasn't just skin and bone, and even the AFCD staff were quite shocked at the condition of this poor little mite.  Iris told me that that he had been very hungry when he arrived at the Homing Centre and had eaten a big meal (which wouldn't have actually been that much relatively), and I was so upset I asked the ex-owner why the dog was so thin.  He said the pet shop had told him how much to feed the dog and denied that there was anything wrong with him, but I know what I and everyone else could see, an animal that had been starved.  I wasn't intending taking him to Acorn because he already had a home to go to and he was now fully vaccinated and licensed, but I had to ask a vet to take a look and confirm my feeling that the size and condition of the poodle wasn't right.  Dr Andy was the vet today and he not only confirmed that the dog was well underweight, but he also said that it was far younger than a year as it still had puppy teeth.  Pet shops and breeders are known to lie about a puppy's age so they can take them from their mothers as soon as possible, and this is obviously what had happened here. If you want to know the name of the pet shop it's called New Date in Ho Man Tin.  Avoid this place, and all other pet shops. They are all crooks who care nothing at all for the puppies or the mothers who were forced to have them.

Happy Nancy with the crooked teeth and long nails

Of course I had to check for any new arrivals at AFCD and sure enough there was a pair of small-sized dogs that needed taking out.  They weren't microchipped so once again I had to estimate an age, which is really quite difficult with small dogs who haven't been well looked after and whose teeth are already dirty.  I guessed they were around five years, Dr Andy added another year when he had a look, but quite honestly it's never anything more than a guess.   The dogs are a pomeranian cross and a terrier cross, both girls and very sweet.  Iris has already clipped their over-long nails and they are due for a grooming, and then they will look lovely.

The teacup poodle was picked up at Acorn and is already in a new home and isn't available, just in case you're wondering.

There's been a big change in my Lamma Murphy over the past few days following his stem cell treatment about a month ago.  He suddenly decided the other day that he wanted to come on the morning walk, and although I let him I ended up carrying him most of the way.  The next day he wanted to come as well, and the day after, so I asked Dr Andy if it was OK to let him exercise now after having been told that he needed strict rest after the treatment.  The answer was yes, it's fine, so I think I can say that the treatment was a success and now perhaps Murphy can get rid of the extra weight he's put on during his month of rest.  Hooray!  If you have a dog that's suffering from arthritis and want to know about stem cell options, please ask the vets at Acorn.  It's not cheap but it can change an old dog's life.