Time flies, especially if you're a puppy and a month means the difference between being a helpless bottle-fed baby and a lively six week-old with a zest for life and play. You may remember the Water Babies who were rescued in early August after having been washed down a hillside during heavy rain, and it's hard to believe they're old enough to be coming back to the Ap Lei Chau Homing Centre this weekend.
We've got lots of puppies for you to meet and choose from but please remember they are NOT small sized and will grow into anything between medium-large to large adults. I wish we had smaller-sized dogs and puppies to satisfy demand but currently they're in short supply.
Another puppy who was one of a litter rescued as babies in the rain is Ned, who has the condition megaesophagus. He's spent a lot of his life so far in hospital but is back out again and is being given special care by the Ap Lei Chau team. His condition is lifelong but is only a problem when he eats, and there are special precautions that can be taken to prevent aspiration pneumonia, which happens when food goes into the lungs rather than the stomach. One of these is called a Bailey Chair, and it keeps the dogs upright during eating. The other idea is steps to an elevated feeding bowl, something I haven't seen before but which looks like a much easier option.
"One of the primary dangers to a dog with megaesophagus is aspiration pneumonia. Because the food stays lodged in the throat, it can often be inhaled into the lungs causing aspiration pneumonia. One way to avoid this is to make sure that every time the dog eats or drinks anything, that the dog sits for at least 10 minutes afterwards or is held in a sitting up or begging" position.
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