Tues 6th Dec: About baby puppies and their needs

This pup's cuteness was his downfall

It's interesting in a sad kind of way to see how little understanding there is of puppies and their absolute need to be with their mother, or at the very least their siblings, until they are old enough to be separated.

There were two very clear examples of this today, one of which was a Maltese puppy that was surrendered by the owner because he had some (unclear) health problems.  We were told the vet that was consulted recommended the puppy be put to sleep rather than pay for the expense of an MRI, which seems a rather drastic solution if an easy one if you don't want to be bothered with a less-than-perfect animal.  It seems that the puppy's vision isn't good and he may even be blind, and looking at the size of this tiny tot he looks really young even though we were told he was three-and-a-half months.  It's well known that pet shops and breeders lie about the age of puppies they sell and take them from their mothers when they are far too young, and that's why many end up with behaviour issues as well as health problems.  This Maltese baby has already been vaccinated twice, which means the first one was given too soon even if he is fourteen weeks, so for now he is in a foster home where he can be assessed and given good care.  The fact is even if he is blind he can lead a normal and fulfilling life, but there are very few takers for a puppy that can't see.  It's actually fine because it separates the committed adopters from those who just want a cute and fluffy toy, which is the whole problem with the pet shop trade in the first place.

Far too young to be alone

The second example of a lack of understanding about puppies came when I posted an urgent plea for foster homes for yet another litter of two-week-old pups that had ended up at AFCD.  I saw two comments which were offering homes for just one pup, even though I had been clear that at this young age they needed to have at least one companion.  A single baby really doesn't do well unless there are other dogs in the home that can act as substitute mothers or siblings, but even so it's much easier to take care of multiple babies rather than just one.  At this almost-unconscious age they spend almost all their time cuddled up to each other and sleeping, but on their own they would need constant round-the-clock care and attention.

As there were no foster homes offered in time it was once again down to me to take them all home and start the routine of feeding, and thankfully they are all taking a good amount of milk from the bottle and then falling back into their coma-like sleep until the next meal time.  Their eyes haven't yet opened so they really need to be able to cuddle in a bunch and take comfort from their brothers and sisters.  Please let Cindy know if you can help by fostering two or three of these little ones by emailing foster@hongkongdogrescue.com (and I have no idea what they are except they are mixed breed).

One of the little senior ladies now in foster

Not all surrenders come about because of callous owners, and today we took in two very small dogs from someone who is terminally ill and had to give up her adored pets as a result.  One is a tiny shih tzu and the other looks like a peke-chihuahua cross, and neither are young.  Both have temporary foster homes and we will have to get their vet records before seeing how each one is in terms of health.

Violet is staying in her foster home

Of the 3 that were rescued, only Shauna (r) survived

We had some good news on other foster dogs as their status was upgraded to adopted, one of them being Yorkie Violet and the other a dog with a very sad story behind her, Shauna.  She was one of three siblings rescued two years ago from a remote beach in Sai Kung where they had been barely surviving for who knows how long.  As a result the health of two of them was very poor, and one died shortly after coming to us while another, Captain, lasted several months before also passing away.  Shauna was the only one who managed to pull through and live to find her forever home, so she is a very special girl.

Shauna

Pug couple Ellie and Rumble will also be staying in their foster home, as well as schnauzer Taffy, so it's going to be a very happy Christmas for these lucky little dogs.