Thurs 12th July: Crazy days

The Scottie and two Yorkies

It wasn't that long ago when we moved into our new Ap Lei Chau Homing Centre and it seemed there was so much space, but a lot has changed in a short time as we are so full now there's an almost wall-to-wall carpet of little dogs and puppies.  Today we took in five more ex-breeder dogs and four young puppies, so I'm glad it's almost the weekend and we should hopefully be able to move some out into fosters or forever homes.

To keep track of which dogs came in which group I've been allocating names which will help me remember, and today's dogs all have "M" names as in Mandy, Millie, Muffin, Maddie and Minnie, while the puppies have yet to be called anything except "no more please!".

Buster is 3 years old and very friendly

Buster the labrador is a very happy boy, and he (and his ear mites) are now staying at Tai Po.  I'm guessing he's a breeder dog too, although I can't be sure, as almost all of the dogs from these lovely establishments come with their unwelcome passengers, and the poor Scottie girl's ears are in a really bad way. 

Left untreated ear mites cause chronic problems and make life miserable for the dogs who are infected.  One of our other ex-breeder dogs has just had to have the TECA surgery (total ear canal ablation) because the infection in her ears was so bad, and the ear canal so blocked, that the pus was breaking out through the skin behind her ear.  Removing the ear canal completely is the only way to treat these long-standing infections, and being deaf in one ear is a small price to pay for being free of pain.

Bucket is an extreme example of generic disasters

It's amuses and saddens me when people say they don't want to adopt because they don't want a dog that has health problems, when the dogs that we have for adoption are the very same ones that are producing puppies with inherited skin and joint issues, as well as the scabies and ear mites that come as part of the breeder dog package.  Even someone who imported a breeder dog from Australia thinking that would be a guarantee of a healthy pup, found out that the dog has double hip dysplasia (and I can't deny I was inwardly laughing when I was told).

I would be lying if I said that mixed breeds have none of these issues because these days so many of the mongrels are part this and part that and not the true and hardy village dogs of the old days.  However almost all very small dogs have knee problems which require surgery, and I see so many labradors and golden retrievers with terrible hips.  You can see it in the puppies that are so proudly paraded as it's very obvious even with the naked eye.  The only way to avoid getting a dog with any sort of health problem is to adopt an adult who has already passed the stage of hiding any nasty surprises.  In the case of small dogs, they will usually already have had the necessary surgery and/or treatment, or it will have been diagnosed so adopters are given that information.