Tues 2nd April: Another busy day at Acorn

1 year-old Tusk heading back to Tai Po after donating blood

Beagle Stinker wasn't doing well today and had to have a second blood transfusion, this time thanks to our gorgeous boy Tusk.  If only Tusk had a breed name he would have been snapped up for adoption by now, but as an unknown mix he waits unnoticed, even though he's young, handsome and with a very kind nature.   It's very sad.

Stinker's vet bill so far is $19,000 and that will increase daily until we can see some improvement.  I was asked today if I would consider euthanasia given Stinker's age and present condition, but I can't bring myself to do that.   After he first arrived from AFCD, every day that Stinker didn't die when we fully expected him to do just that was a sign that he didn't want to give up, and as he grew stronger and gained weight despite his initial poor health it seemed he would live for ever.  Now we just don't know, but if you would like to contribute towards Stinker's costs please email Dana at vetfund@hongkongdogrescue.com for information on how to help.

Sweet 6 year-old Freda

It's not only Stinker that needed urgent vet care today either, as the recently surrendered corgi girl, Freda, had to have surgery to remove the bladder stones that were causing serious problems.  It's possible with certain types of bladder stones to resolve the issue through a restricted diet, but this takes time and there were so many stones.  It's also difficult to re-home a dog with an ongoing health problem, so the quick fix surgery is the best option and Freda will be back at the Homing Centre minus stones on Wednesday.

Dino (with brother Elmo) is the smallest, and the only one of his litter to fall ill

On top of that one of  baby pups that had come to us a month ago as a litter of seven had to be taken to Acorn as another emergency case when he had a relapse of tick fever.  Dino had already been treated for tick fever at another clinic when he first went to his foster home, but now he is back in hospital.  These puppies are almost ready to go to their forever homes (if they are lucky enough), so it's frustrating to see little Dino held back.  I suppose we should be grateful that he was the only one of his litter to be infected with tick fever.

Five more puppies arrived from AFCD today, a litter of four girls and one extra youngster.  The four are just old enough to be ready for adoption, and although we're not expecting crowds at the weekend due to both the Ching Ming holiday on Friday and Rugby Sevens, all puppies are available to meet and adopt any day of the week at our Ap Lei Chau Homing Centre, open 10am to 7pm without fail.

Four plus one tuck in after arriving today

Dino's litter arrived exactly one month ago on 3rd March