Panda goes home

Panda yesterday received his passport to freedom after completing his treatment for TvT (Transmissible Venereal Disease).

Today he went to his old haunt a small market area, just off the Night Bazaar in the city. The food vendors there welcomed him back with cheers and open arms. They even gave money towards his treatment. He looked pleased to be home and marked the occasion with a few boundary pee's, unfortunately much to the annoyance of one vendor who had some vegetables laid on the ground drying.

Thursday vet trip

Panda was a little excited today, in more ways than one. Firstly when the vet looked at his willy, things started happening and following a final inspection for his TvT & given a clean bill of health, he was fit to go back home!! More of that later.

Phuky, after a long haul and a rough ride through her treatment for TvT, is also given the all clear today and we will sterilise her next week, as she is attracting attentions from handsome admirers at the shelter, as she appears to be on heat.

Pat, Kelly & Cynthia had their next TvT injections without incident and Moom appears to be on his final jab today, the vet saying she wanted to see him again next week & than his treatment should also be complete.

Dam, a cute short legged adult black dog, brought to the shelter for recuperation after being beaten up & badly bitten in the neck by other dogs, was sterilised last week and since then has been showing a strange nervous symptom. She literally curls her neck round to one side, as if staring at her tail and then walking like a drunk robot.

The vet said we should stop the antibiotics and see if this was a reaction to the medication and assured us that this was not a reaction to the anaesthetic at surgery of sterilisation.

The smallest of the cases today was Heather. She is a tiny pup of about a month old but with a dead tip to her tail. The vet suggested an operation under local anaesthetic this afternoon to remove the dead portion, which seems to have died due to some trauma.

And finally it was the turn of Lady, the abandoned elderly Labrador to have another check on her blood condition. She is not gaining weight and continues to look very thin and weak. Back at the shelter she is behaving like a broody mum, demanding to be with any young puppies, just to be near them. We think this reflects a little of her history that we are completely in the dark about. Maybe she was a breeding dog and now discarded as she came to the end of her production value. What ever the story, we will make every effort to bring her back to better health in her retired years.

13 Dogs to the vet in 2 cars!

Out TvT (Transmissible Venereal Disease) campaign continues unabated, today we had 6 cases to see the vet for update check & injections. The course of treatment typically lasts 4 to 7 weeks, depending on the severity of the tumour, the consistent provision of the medication and the dogs state of health to deal with the chemotherapy.

Phuky has been on the treatment the longest and is now well & truly on the road to recovery. Her condition was severe due to extended neglect and despite recently having fly larvae in her tumour, with antibiotics and increased cleaning routine, she will possibly only need one or maybe 2 more jabs.

Panda is doing very well. We are at least able to see his tumour, as the size has decreased and his foreskin can be pulled back, something a couple of weeks ago was unthinkable. He will need another visit next week before he is completely cleared.

Moom is in the same condition, check next week and then see if he can have Thursday's off in the future! Poor guy, hates getting up so early every Thursday for his trip to the shelter from home at 6.30am and then hanging out with all those homeless lot at the shelter!

Kelly is a new one to the list, she was picked up for sterilisation 2 weeks ago and found to have TvT during the op.

Cynthia is the girl we blow darted last week at a temple to bring in for sterilisation. She too was found to have TvT. Living at the temple, she is very scared and not social with people and handling her was a little problematic at times. I am convinced it wasn't the thought of me darting her again.

Pat is a restaurateur from near my home. Well that's what she said but frankly she is a dog that lives behind & under a restaurant with her 4 month old puppy along with a male companion. What a life! She has early TvT and hopefully will not need too many jabs as some of the cases we see.

Next up was Angie. She was found wandering in the streets with no place to call home. Her right eye is deformed and the vet said that this was a congenital condition called Anophthalmia. He suggested that unless it became infected, to just leave and keep clean. We will need to observe her and see how she goes on. The reality is that if she is startled, she shows a small eye because her reaction is to open her eyes wide and the small under developed eye shows through the controlling eye lids. Otherwise it just hides out of the way.

Mandy ( was called Pui) had her large tumour removed last week and today she is seeing the vet as she is having problems passing water. (Having a pee) The vet inspected her and said this was most definitely a bladder full of stone. We will take her in this Saturday for another op. Bless her, she is such a lovely girl. Dumped on the streets as she was, to improve her health would be a pleasure & give her a new lease of life.

Lady the Labrador is here today for an update blood check, to see if her platelets are recovering their balance.

After completing their other treatments over the past few weeks, Lucy & BuunRod are commencing their Heartworm treatments. The blood tests of kidney & liver were satisfactory and they got their first injections for Heartworm today. They have been on Aspirin for a week, to prepare their blood and today the injection will start to kill off the worms , which in both cases the vet said were at an early stage. Tomorrow they will receive their second & final injection. We will need to ensure they don't run around too much, so the dying worms do not clog their hearts & cause other problems.

Libby a cute little ball of fun. She was dumped along with 6 other pups at the front gate of Karin's home last weekend in a sack. They are getting along fine at this stage but time will tell. They were obviously removed from their mother far too early and their immunity will not be high. Today Libby was the 'guinea pig', getting the once over for blood, faeces & skin tests to check if they have anything happening that we should be aware of. The blood test shows a parasite present and we will medicate accordingly. Unchecked, maybe they would slowly deterioate. Watch this space.

And then last but far from least, is Joe. This dog was rescued last week from the corridors of a police station at a late hour of the day, where he had sought refuge. He was diagnosed last week by one learned scholar, who is currently responsible for teaching veterinary students at a reputed clinic associated with a local university ( no names no pack drill!), as suffering from pneumonia. Unfortunately, there is only one 24 hour emergency centre here.

Today the vet, who we are more confident with, gave us a proper diagnosis. He x-rayed Joe's neck and found the 1st vertebrae, the one you feel is a big lump behind your skull, or the dogs for that matter, to be damaged. The flange on the left appeared to be misshapen or fractured and this it was suggested could attribute why he was walking stiffly and could not bend his head. The vet gave him an anti inflammatory (a characteristic of my writing maybe?) injection and prescribed Prednisolone 2 x twice a day. (Karin tells me that Joe is already showing improvements, just hours after his jab)

Vet trip

The visit to the vet today is a mixed bag. We have 3 TvT cases ( should have been 4 but more on that later), a village dog with a problem on his scrotum, puppy Jammie ( was called Lek) needs a blood check update and Becky is along for a look at her left ear which is constantly dirty.
Also making the trip today was Noy, the Rottweiler cross(with a Jack Russell we think) who after biting so many dogs at the shelter and bullying everyone, we have decided to reduce the risk of further serious punctures by having his canine teeth cut down in size.

Phuky, the village dog who in last months diary entries was being neglected by her family, today gets her 2nd chemotherapy injection and from the photo it is obvious her treatment is working. Whats more, her weight is increasing which is a very healthy sign. Maybe its the removal of all those ticks and having regular meals.

Lucy, a casualty of Noy, gets her awful wound in her armpit dressed. Back at the shelter, she would previously hide in a corner, scared of her own shadow, now after her attack from Noy, she is in the same corner but shakes with fear as well. Anyway, the good news is that her wound is healthy and her weight is stable so today she also gets her 3rd TvT jab.

Panda, a black & white collie picked up by Karin last week, makes his first trip today. He has TvT in a big way. Big, because his willy is so big that his foreskin will not pass back over the growth underneath and blood drips constantly from within. Poor guy is a bit angry with us too, probably from the pain, so hopefully after some treatment he will relax a bit. He also has a bit of a cough and we are recommended to give him cefelexin.

Moom was meant to come along today for his second TvT jab but was nowhere to be seen at his home. The family where not their either, just Daeng (the originator of the TvT) looking at us from afar. We will need to arrange for him to stay at the shelter for a few weeks while he has his weekly treatments.

Bob, a hairy large bodied dog had a castration job done some time ago by the local government folks,who's work we often come across, offeringcheap treatments but sadly fail to follow through with meds, follow ups and aftercare. Today, Bobs scrotum was very sore and he has been nibbling at a slight infection there. The vet thought it could have been from a remnant stitch or poor hygiene.

Lastly there were the 2 pups. Becky it seems has a fungal infection in her left ear and needs Dexyrol and the blood test of Jammie was without incident, albeit difficult to find a blood vessel underneath all that fluff!