Mon 4th Feb: Open all week

Ap Lei Chau Main Street was very quiet today with at least half of the shops already closed for the Lunar New Year holiday, but of course both of our Homing Centres will be open throughout the week, as we are every single day of the year.  A lot of the Tai Po dogs will be enjoying hikes with the volunteers, and thank you to everyone who has signed up to take their favourite dogs out for the day.

Bernard at Whiskers N Paws

Large puppy Bernard had been enjoying his stay at Whiskers N Paws with best friend Minty, but as the store will be closed for Chinese New Year both came back to our Homing Centre at the end of the Sunday puppy session.  Happily for Bernard, he was taken for a trial adoption with another ex-HKDR dog today, so I hope Minty will find herself a new friend, or even a home of her own too.

Bernard and Minty aren't related but they have been a pair

All of the upstairs baby pups with parvovirus were moved out of the Homing Centre this morning and sent to two vet clinics, Acorn and Concordia Pet Care, while the whole area was bleached, steamed and disinfected.  At least with tiles on the floors and walls there's a way of cleaning away the virus, but outdoors where there's earth and other types of porous surfaces the infection can stay for a very long time.  That's why all puppies must be vaccinated before being taken out to places where there is any chance of infected dogs having been, especially when there's an outbreak of the disease as there currently seems to be.  As far as we know this particular infection started on Lantau, in the Tung Chung area, but obviously as dogs and puppies are brought to AFCD kennels from many different places then all are at risk.  It caught everyone by surprise as we haven't seen parvovirus for many years, thankfully, and I hope once it's over we won't see it again for a long time.  The puppies that survive will be moved back to the two upstairs rooms of the Homing Centre to be quarantined once again, until we know they are fully fit and ready to leave.   

Parvovirus survivors Sugar and Wizard are back in their foster home

Thank you to everyone who has donated so far to the inevitable very high financial cost of hospitalising so many, and if you would also like to help here's the link https://hongkongdogrescue.com/vet-fund-donation-form/