Sun 7th Feb: Tragedy overshadows everything

The bait is pork luncheon meat

I'm going to start with the good news even though the day was overshadowed by tragic events, and more about that later.

Have a great life Wendy

Two of the puppies just returned from their foster homes were adopted today, first Wendy and then Walter.

Walter went home too

I'm so happy for Claudia

Also going home after a short stay at Tai Po was Claudia, a very sweet girl whose assumed sister Frisbee left for a trial the other day too.

Filling the gaps left by Wendy, Walter and Willy, the three pups adopted over the weekend, we took in five more . Tom and Tucker came first, then big brothers Jim, Jack and Joe.

 

As far as I know there were at least four cases of dogs being poisoned today, and having lost a dog myself in this way I fully appreciate how totally devastating it is.  One minute your dog is happily playing and the next thing you're rushing to the nearest vet in the hope something can be done.  The poison used is so toxic that even if you make it to a clinic in time the damage to the organs is too great. For those who lost a dog today, I'm truly sorry, and for the rest of us I can only ask that you be vigilant and maybe even muzzle your dog so it can't eat anything when outside.  One of the dogs that died was adopted from HKDR as a puppy, and she was the most wonderful and sweet girl whose loss will have hit the family hard, I know. 

Sasha was just one of the dogs that died today

The poison that killed my dog was a herbicide called Paraquat, and at that time it was freely available to buy as a weedkiller in hardware stores.  I don't know if this is still the case but I do know that whatever is used now kills extremely quickly.  Paraquat is so lethal that even contact with it can kill: "Paraquat is highly toxic to humans and is widely used in agriculture as a contact herbicide. However, it is easily accessible in agricultural product shops. Seven cases of paraquat poisoning were treated in Tuen Mun Hospital from 1998-2005. The mortality (4 out of 7) was very high. One patient died after oral exposure to paraquat despite immunosuppressive and antioxidant therapies."  You may wonder why something so terrible is available to buy, and I ask the same question. I think it's time to change that.

• Paraquat causes direct damage when it comes into contact with the lining of the mouth, stomach, or intestines.
• After paraquat enters the body, it is distributed to all areas of the body. Paraquat causes toxic chemical reactions to occur throughout many parts of the body, primarily the lungs, liver, and kidneys.
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