Mon 7th Nov: A dreaded disease

Raisin was the smallest and weakest of the group

 It's always a risk which we're aware of, but every time it happens it's still as heartbreaking and upsetting as every other time, and there's really nothing that we can do except hope and pray that the outcome will be positive.  I'm talking about parvovirus and young puppies that come already infected, just as the latest group did, falling ill within a matter of hours after arrival.  I'm sure the stress of the van trip and being stuffed into small crates tipped the puppies over the edge, even if they would have become ill anyway, but by this morning one of the pups was already very weak, subsequently dying before we could get her to hospital.  At least Raisin had a name in her very short life, and that's the best that I can say.

With parvovirus being such a devastating disease in very young puppies, getting them supportive hospital care is as much as can be done as there's currently no actual treatment for the virus.  However finding vet clinics that will accept parvo cases, and have the space and 24-hour treatment facility, isn't easy, and the all we could manage for today was two isolation cages at Concordia for Romy and Rufus.  For the others it's a matter of luck, and of course our own supportive care at the isolation area at our Kennedy Town North Street Centre.   I don't know what the staff will be faced with in the morning, as really the puppies should be having full time monitoring, but we can only do what we can do. 

If anyone is able to sponsor the cost of sending any of the other puppies to 24-hour clinics, we would be very grateful.  This type of intensive care isn't cheap, and it comes at a time when we are already facing serious financial difficulties.  The worst thing is that there's no guarantee of survival even with the best of care, and the best thing is that if the puppies make it through then they will recover without any long-term effects.  For donation information please go to https://hongkongdogrescue.com/donate/one-off-donations/.

One thing that is becoming very clear is that more and more puppies are being smuggled in from China, and of course they bring with them the risks of disease, the most frightening of all being rabies.  Hong Kong has been a rabies-free area since around 1980, and the rabies vaccination that all puppies should receive at five months of age is 100% effective.  However there are still many illegal breeders in Hong Kong who don't bother with any such prevention measures as vaccinations of any kind, and many of the adult dogs that we take in don't have microchips or licenses (which are issued with the rabies vaccination), so that's the first thing we take care of.  It's very cheap and easy to have a dog or puppy properly licensed, just $80 at any of the four AFCD Animal Management Centres, and the license is issued on the spot.  

I don't know what measures are being taken to stop the illegal importation of puppies from Mainland China, but I have heard that it's very easy to simply carry a small puppy through in a bag. One of the very sad results of so many puppies being smuggled into Hong Kong is that they are being bought by people who have no clue at all about dogs and their care, and this is one of the reasons why we get purebreed puppies being surrendered (I should add that not all surrendered breeds are smuggled dogs). 

I should also mention that the border collie I wrote about yesterday probably won't be surrendered after all, which is something I've come to expect after so many other similar cases. It's strange that people take the time and effort to ask often multiple rescue organisations to take their dog, even saying it's urgent and begging for help, only to later say they no longer want to give the dog up.  Wouldn't you be absolutely sure before contacting anyone?