Yesterday I went to visit a dog sanctuary. It is run by the Taichung Universal Animal Protection Association ( TUAPA ) and Love Dog which are the affiliated foreign-run team. It is about a 40 mins drive out of Taichung, deep into the country. You pass fields of red soil, Taichung Airport, concete walls with razor wire ( army bases) and a large amount of the roads were under construction and basically dirt track for the moment.
I went with a concerned group of students from Dong HAi, who visit the sanctuary about 3 times a semester. It's a good thing too because the place is pretty difficult to find by yourself.
The CingShuei sanctuary is home to over 1,300 rescued dogs. There are 6 buildings where the dogs are segregated into puppies, sick, aggressive, etc
The building are divided into cells which vary in size and can hold 6-8 dogs. For the most part the dogs are wary but when cornered friendly.
Our job was to medicate 2 buildings with tick/flea spray.
Actually it was fun! We were separated into groups and we were armed with various chemicals then we were told where and how to spray and massage in the lotions by a tall Taiwaese guy called Lao Shi.
And so it began! Someone would open a door and then eveyone would filter through trying not to let the dogs escape. Then we would catch and spray and massge all the dogs. The really scared/nervous ones would be sprayed from afar. When all the dogs in each cell were done, we would move on.
Most of the dogs seemed happy and healthy. Of course there were a couple of sick/scarred/crippled ones, and in the case of one dog - with a nose missing! there were a couple of obvious rubber band cases, around the muzzle and neck, but they were being looked after by the band of weekend volunteeers, and the few paid workers that stay there during the week. Funding comes from donations and events.
None of the dogs are killed here. They all have a permanent home until they are old and die.
The idea is to keep expanding and building new buildings to accomodate new animals. There is also a place for cats there, and a veterinarian on site. It is really quite clean, and there were no obvious infestations.
A lot of the dogs are desperate for attention and love, and are ready to submit to having their belly rubbed as soon as you walk in. Others are very nervous and aggressive if cornered.
Before I went I wasn't sure what kind of experience this would be. I was prepared for depressing and sad. In fact, I came away mostly amazed. I can't deny that it's a shame that so many beautiful animals are in there and that they desperately need good homes, but they are certainly in a better position than the homes they were in before, or on the street.
I will definately return to see those hopeful faces again.
So I took these photos of a husky. He lives four doors down from the Cambridge Vet Centre. Dr Zhen knows about this dog as it has been in to have it's fur shaved. He advised the owner of the skin problems the dog has and the fact that it is dangerously thin, but the owner didn't like it very much and accused Dr Zhen of giving his dog sickness and diarrhea after it had only been in to have it's coat shaved. Dr Zhen is wary of taking it any further as the man is a neighbour and seems to be of an unpleasant attitude.
Can anyone give me some information about what to do? I would like to take this further, press charges if necessary, but I would like some support and I don't have the knowledge.
