Thurs 20th June: Puppy season in full swing

The new pups look very much like our previous Kitten Litter

I knew I shouldn't have said anything about taking Friday off because that's definitely not going to happen now, thanks in large part to the fact that I had to spend the afternoon at Acorn with a new litter of puppies all of which needed blood tests because of suspected tick fever.   Actually the initial blood test doesn't confirm that the puppies have the disease, it just shows that they are anaemic and that's a strong indicator that they are infected.  Most of the puppies that are born to homeless mothers will have fleas and ticks, and I suspect many don't survive because of these parasites, intestinal worms included.   All of these new babies now have to be treated for both tick fever and ringworm (fungal skin infection not actual worms), so it's an added burden on the already over-stretched staff at our Ap Lei Chau Homing Centre.  If anyone is willing to foster these little pups (and they really are small), please let Cindy know at foster@hongkongdogrescue.com.  They will need to be taken back to Acorn for regular checking but HKDR covers all vet costs as well as food.  To help identify the pups and their littermates once they get older, I have given them all "Z" names, like Zeb, Zack, Zara etc, so they will be referred to as the Z Litter.

Puppy season is in full swing now and there are more being born than can possibly all find homes.  It's seeing all of them at AFCD and on Facebook that makes it so hard to have any understanding of how so many people still support the breeders or pet shops and the suffering of the mother dogs, epsecially when so many of these "pure" bred puppies are anything but.  We have the most gorgeous small-sized puppies available for adoption, and if I see one more enquiry for a shiba inu or corgi pup I think I will scream. 

Slipper as a baby

I met one of the small pups that was recently adopted by her foster parents at Acorn today, and I think Slipper remembered me but maybe she's just a very happy and friendly little girl who was lucky enough to be rescued when she was very young and to have found a lovely home.  It's always interesting to see how these babies grow, and I've met several of the small-sized puppies-now-young-adults since they were adopted, and it's true to say they are all beautiful dogs with great personalities.  I think the fact that they were never in pet shops and were rescued when very young has played a large part in this, because no puppy is born bad or aggressive, they are made that way by their early treatment and experiences.  If puppies are given the time, attention and love they need as youngsters they will grow into well-rounded and happy adults, it's as simple as that.

Sadly not all of the puppies that are adopted are treated well, and certainly many of those that are bought.  We see the results in our "Red Dogs", the poodles and other small breeds that have behaviour issues due to ignorance of every dog's basic needs and poor training.  It's a battle but we will keep trying to educate as many people as we can.