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| Bunty is one of our oldies, and she needs a feeding tube to "eat" |
Some people might question why we would take in dogs that are very old and sick when it's extremely unlikely that they will survive long enough to find a home, even if anyone was willing to foster or adopt them. In extreme cases I'll accept them just so they can be gently euthanised, without pain and being held in their final moments, but in other cases when I see there is still a spark and interest in living they can stay with us until it's time to say goodbye.
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| Stinker's skin has been left untreated for a very long time |
I took a fourteen year-old beagle from AFCD today, surrendered by his owner as is usually the case. His skin is awful and he stinks, and I wondered out loud how anyone could ignore the smell and do nothing about it. I was told the now ex-owner had said he was rarely in Hong Kong so the dog would have to lie in pee and poo, so from that I assume he was in a cage and just left for long periods. In fact the smell is from the skin itself, not anything the poor boy has been lying in, and his ears are horribly infected and smelly too, so the first thing we'll do is start treatment for yeast and bacterial skin infection and make sure Stinker (yes, I had to call him that) has a decent and appropriate diet for the first time in his sad life. His blood test showed everything to be quite normal so he's not a sick dog as such, just old and neglected, and the most heartbreaking thing - happy. This boy is just happy to be alive, happy to be able to walk around, happy to sniff and be free. It's worth the cost and everything else to be able to offer dogs like Stinker what must seem like a real home, even if they have to share it with lots of annoying puppies (actually Stinker seemed to quite like them).
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| Handsome and large Oreo is just a year old |
At the other end of the scale, many young adults are similarly abandoned when they get to be too big or too much of a handful. We can assume this was the case with super-handsome Oreo, now adopted and living quite peacefully with a pair of cats, and funny-lovely older puppy Mister, who went for a trial adoption today.
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| Mister is 100% love for everyone |
Of course, I totally understand your compassion for older dogs, and you know I adopted Giselle, a golden Cocker who was dumped at the AFCD to be put-down at 15 and 1/2 years old! She was skin and bone and had been starved for many months. She was so happy to be alive in my house, and received lots of love, food to eat, a warm bed and much companionship. When somebody came to my door, she ran to greet them along with my 2 dogs. She lived for 6 months and turned 16 years old which was amazing. I will never forget her. I cried the same for her as I did all my other dogs who lived long lives. I also have a soft spot for old dogs who are abandoned, and I will do it again at a later date.
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