Tues 7th Feb: A plea to all volunteers

I know it's inevitable given the number of older dogs I have living with me, but there seems to be a continuous stream of health issues suddenly arising and more often than not ending in death.  Ottilie was the most recent case and totally out of the blue, and now it's Ginny, who coincidentally was a puppy friend of Ottilie's and they grew up like sisters.   I'd noticed Ginny wasn't well and took her for a check-up last week, but nothing specific was found.  However she was becoming progressively weaker so I took her back to see Dr Tony today, and she was admitted to hospital where she will be on IV fluids and have further tests in the morning.

Tibet almost died because of being fed treats

There was another emergency today when Ap Lei Chau dog Tibet started blowing bubbles from his mouth and was pawing at his face.  He was rushed to Acorn for immediate surgery and was found to have a bone lodged in the entry to the stomach  He'll be fine, thank goodness, but this was a result of volunteers continuing to feed treats to the dogs despite being asked again and again not to.  Many of the smaller dogs have food allergies or special dietary requirements but we are fighting a losing battle when they are secretly fed all sorts of banned foods.  It's the same at Tai Po when many dogs have terrible diarrhoea after the weekends when so many volunteers come to walk them, and away from the Homing Centre they are given various treats and snacks.  We are all aware that volunteers want  to spoil the dogs and give them something nice as a treat, but the consequences are left for others to clean up and it's neither fair nor right.  In the case of Tibet he could very easily have died, and we also have to bear the cost of the emergency surgery.  If you are a volunteer dog walker and are one of those who take along treats for the dogs on your shift, please be aware of the results and be considerate.

Super-smart and cuddly Dylan

I also had some puppies with me when I went to Acorn, one of them being Dylan who was recently returned from foster and is now back on Lamma with me.  He is the sweetest puppy and incredibly affectionate, but more than that he is also very smart.  When he was let out of the crate in the consult room I recognised the signs of him wanting to pee (looking for a suitable spot) so I put a piece of newspaper down on the floor which Dylan promptly used.  Everyone was very impressed, but really almost all puppies are very easy to toilet train if the proper methods are used.   Unfortunately Dylan is slightly anaemic so he couldn't have the vaccination we were there for, but if you are interested in adopting this lovely little boy please let me know.

Who needs pet shops?

Another lovely little puppy was adopted today, the baby poodle that was bought one day and given up the next.   We already had an adopter who had been waiting a long time for the right dog, so there was a home lined up.  Thanks to Popcorn's new family for not buying even though they were really desperate to have a dog in their life.