In memory of Pearl

Caroline took Pearl in to Dr Huang's to be put down on Friday night. We spent 2 days saying goodbye to her. Here are some things I remember about Pearl. She liked to walk on Caroline's left side behind us both. She liked to rub her face in tall grass. She loved green chew toys. She always came awake at a rattle of her harness, and pushed ahead of me to get dressed to go out. She would get jealous and push me out of the way to get onto Caroline's lap. She was a great mum, right up until her last day. She was a very relaxed, easy going dog. Nothing phased her or surprised her. She was always calm and composed. She will be greatly missed and now she is at peace.

painful reality

Pearl....she spends most of her waking time scratching, itching, bleeding...of course she has moments where she enjoys food, or a walk...but aren't we just seeing the moments of good in her life in order to make ourselves feel better? For the majority of the time she is in discomfort. Who are we keeping them alive for? us or them?

The pig in Chung Ming Pet Shop

So, I went into a pet shop on Saturday and saw this pig. It didn't look very healthy and it's trotters couldn't get a grip on the metal bar flooring so it couldn't move from the middle of the cage as it just kept slipping back into the well created by it's weight. I got my Taiwanese friend to ask if they would move it to a cage that had a solid floor, and the boss said no because it had diarrhea. So I asked what they were feeding it, and the food they were using was dog food, I think pigs mainly eat fresh veggies and fruit. I met a friend at the Taichung Paws meeting on Sunday who reminded me of the pig. So I brought it up and we all went down there to have a look. We had a chat with the boss, who told us that the pig was 2000nt and yielded to our request of putting cardboard on the floor of the cage. We resolved to go back tonight ( Monday) and so we did. This time the boss told us that the pig was to be returned to the pig farmas it had been in the shop a month and hadn't sold. So it was a bad investment for him. He said he wouldn't be getting anymore pigs,as they're just not money makers, which is a good result I suppose. It's not the kindofpig that is eaten, so least the pig will go back to a breeding farm where it will get healthy and be fed the right food so it can be bred from. We came perilously close to buying the pig but I'm not sure this would have been the right solution as the pet shop owner may have just gotten another pig to take it's place. He is also selling Australian honey Gliders there, which apparently aren't illigal to sell, but are illegal to export out of Australia. These were probably bred here. They are difficult to look after though as they eat very specific foods and are very expensive. by Caroline

Our weekend

So, this weekend Pearl's spirits have definately lifted. Even though her skin looks terrible and she is obviously in pain, she started running in the park, and her appetite is back! She is a less lethargic, and is pushing for her share of affection again! Caroline has put a fleece jacket on her because she doesn't have much fur left, and of course she has a huge cone collar. On Saturday morning a lovely couple came and adopted one of our puppies. we were sorry to see her go, but she is going to a loving home. The new family aren't worried about her hereditary problems from Pearl, and Auntie Jo has given them some information and advice about it all. Hopefully we will be able to visit "Little Cow" ( niou niou )soon because she only lives 15 mins drive away. Unfortunately, our little girl puppy was also supposed to be leaving with a family this weekend but since they were informed about her health, they decided not to adopt her, which is a real shame. We are still waiting to hear about whether our other puppies will be successfully rehomed. by Honey

Expenses for fostering/adopting

In light of Jean's contributions towards Pearl's costs, I have made a list of all the expenses that I have become aware of when fostering or adopting a pet. - laundry (for puppies or sick/incontinent animals) - accessories ( collars, harnesses, bedding etc ) - food - medications - toys - transport ( trains and coaches ) - sleep! (as your pet adjusts to it's new environment) It all adds up. I was completely oblivious to the costs of keeping Pearl for the first 2 months. Now the extra money I have spent on her is starting to show in my monthly budget, which is why we are so grateful to Jean for her ongoing support. by Caroline

Bad news for Pearl

Since Pearl has come off her previous medication she has taken a turn for the worse. Caroline thinks that Dr. Julia was only treating her syptoms before, so her skin got better. But now we are trying to treat the actual problem, her skin's gone back to it's original state...and so quickly! It's only been 2 days and poor Pearl can't walk very fast anymore. Her skin hurts too much, and has become smelly again, like when we first got her. She has slowed right down. She is tearing up her skin which is oozing blood and pus. Her quality of life has gone right down, and it's difficult to watch. Where she was starting to play and run, she is now painfully walking. Where she was playing with me and her puppies, she is now biting and scratching at her body. Where she was eating alot of food, she is now showing less interest. It's a good thing the puppies enjoy eating solid food now (and they are eating alot!), because she can't feed them. Her belly and teats are too sore. Caroline will buy a big cone collar to stop her from biting herself today. by Honey

Thankyou to Jean

We would all like to take this opportunity to thank Pearl's sponser Jean, who has generously donated much needed food and toys for Pearl, and will continue to contribute towards her medical bills. Thankyou Jean, we were all pleasantly surprised to receive your package and are grateful for your help. With Love Caroline, Pearl and Honey

Pearl update

Poor Pearl! After her most recent skin flare up which happened a few days ago, Caroline took her to see Dr Huang down the road. She managed to find a dead demodex mite. They live deep in the hair follicle and are difficult to find. Pearl is on different medication now, and will have to receive more meds for months to come. At the moment she is very hot and I suspect she is runnung a fever. She is tearing her skin up because it is so itchy, scratching and biting, and I think caroline will put a big, cone collar on her today. Poor girl...she's worn her front teeth down through years of scratching her itches. Apparently getting her neutered will also help with the symptoms, as they are affected by her hormones (can't think why her previous owners didn't do this, she must have been a very sick puppy) Her skin is all lumpy, red and inflamed with an angry rash all over her body. What fur she does have is falling out....she looks a sorry sight. JoAnne, Caroline and I went shopping last night and bought her a special oil with omega 3 and omega 6 in it, made from salmon. Hopefully this will help her skin and immune system. Unfortunately demodex mange is hereditary so all the pups have it as well. Dr Huang has told me to feed them healthily and make them fat! The prospective adopters have been notified, and I hope they still want the puppies as 2 were supposed to be taken this weekend. What this will mean for the adopters is 2 years worth of meds for the new pups. Then if their immune system is ok (hopefully their dad was a big strong tu-go!) they should be fine until old age. But it is common to put dogs with demodex to sleep, and they definatly should not be bred from. Caroline has been very tired recently as the puppies are very mobile and noisy. They can be great fun, but we have to play puppy toilet land mine games all the time! by Honey

Overwhelming

So at the weekend I visited Kerryl's place in Taiping. There are 34 dogs there running around in comaparative comfort and security. The past 2 weekends I have done the rounds on Sunday at the Gongyi dog park to see who the regular faces are. After seeing Sean's place in Taipei which has 30+ dogs and these places, the amount of need overwhelms me. I see all these beautiful, happy dogs. Some of them have been injured, thrown away, abused. Some are missing limbs, but are still so vital and full of energy, and some are ill and need special attention. They are all relatively happy where they are in these shelters because they are safe and looked after. But conditions aren't perfect in either of these places, and these wonderful loving personalities all need good homes where they can be treated as special, and lots of affection. What will happen to these dogs? The shelters are full to bursting and they are in direct competition from all those cute pedigree puppies that are sold from pet shops everyday. There are so many more dogs on the streets waiting to be found and taken in, not to mention the pedigree pet shop pups which have grown too large, inconvenient or expensive for whoever bought them, waiting to be given or thrown away. What can be done to help the dogs already rescued?

Pearl update

I suspect that Caroline is seriously considering keeping Pearl. Some of you might say that you knew all along this would happen, but you know, up until today I was sure I'd have to say goodbye to Pearl soon. We need the space to help other dogs after all. Now I really think she might stay...(yay!) The reason being that she needs special care, not to mention that we've been getting quite friendly. Caroline came home and caught us sleeping on the same chair the other night! Last night she came up in a serious red rash. We suspected an allergy as it was so inflamed and itchy. So she went to see Julia today and Julia confirmed it. Pearl is one sickly dog. She is on a special diet to boost and support her flagging immune system, several medications for skin problems, and on top of it all is losing weight. I'm not sure that if she was rehomed anyone else could look after her so well and give her that kind of love and attention. Plus, we've been getting on really well and I'd miss her. We are real companions, and after all Caroline was saying a while ago that it wasn't fair that I was alone whilst she was at work...(hehe) by Honey

puppy update

About a week ago their eyes opened, and they've been walking for 4 days now. Caroline started to wean them last night, and Auntie JoAnne has already brought some potential adopters round. More are scheduled for the weekend. by Honey

I met Pearl a 5 year old beagle cross, on the October 10th holiday at Fulong Beach. She looked really sick and she hardly had any fur. Her skin was raw and bleeding where she had been biting it in an effort to stop the violent itching. Two weeks later Caroline went back to Fulong and found Pearl. She put her in a travel box and brought her back to Taichung by coach.Pearl had an advanced case of cellulitis with mange, and was pregnant with 6 puppies!We took her to Julia our vet in Taichung, who checked her over. She had been microchipped before, so her owner was called. Unfortunately her owner didn't want her back as apparently she had "run away over a year ago". Pearl's been with us for about 2 months now and we've been through alot together. She is very loving and her favourite thing is to be cuddled on your lap. She would really suit a retired owner as her pace is quite slow. She's been on medication for 2 months now and her skin is much better, although it is still not perfect. We have 4 healthy puppies which are nearly ready to be rehomed. by Honey

Honey's Story

I was living in a government dog pound near Dong Hai. I was extremely thin as I was getting bullied by the other dogs in my cage who weren't allowing me to eat. I was also very scared and quite sick. I first saw Caroline when she brought her class for a field trip to the centre. She came back again a couple of days later with Michael, and then a week later she came back to get me. It was a really horrible day as it was stormy and raining hard. We were both soaked through and cold, when we arrived at Julia's place. I had to have alot of injections and had had a microchip fitted at the centre.When we finally got home I slept for 3 days and didn't eat. I've been with Caroline for about 7 months now and am here to stay. She has helped me to get strong and healthy. I love running in the local park every morning and snuggling up on the sofa to watch tv. by Honey

Toby's story

Toby the hamster started it all about a year ago. He was bought by a class at school, and when the teacher left no one looked after him. He wasn't given food or water and was very lonely. Caroline decided to take him home and look after him. Now he gets fresh fruit and vegetables, fresh bedding, and even has a wheel.He's getting old now as hamsters don't live very long and he was already 2 years old when he came here. by Honey