Thursday Vet Run

Once again we took along the TvT cases currently with us and all are doing fine. Also coming with us on the morning trip for sterilisation, are 3 girls Fai, Nak & BoonRod. They will spend the day there and after their afternoon nap we will pick them up again & return to the shelter for a week of TLC.

I was asked by friend recently, who I thought was fairly street savvy "what does TLC in your blog mean?" Silly me, I assume too much. Anyway, for those others I have wrongfully assumed knew the meaning, its Tender Loving Care.

A couple of youngsters came to the vet today for checks. One was Cindy, a puppy brought in from a temple for check as she was acting very strangely. She just seemed to cower in corners and stay away from others, and not eating or otherwise acting like a typical puppy would. After a few visits now, it seems there is nothing the vets can find wrong, apart from the fact she is extremely scared and needs to relax & accept food from strangers.

Cheeky, this cute bundle of fun, is one of 8 pups born to a dog named Dok. She is a very antisocial thing but her pups are well fed, appearing quite healthy and getting the early safe & secure environment they need in life to get a good start by way of food, water, de-worming & vaccination.


Cheeky it turns out has an outbreak of fungal infection on her foot and a couple of the others have got it too on their bodies. Cheeky is the guinea pig today and we shall give the same treatment to the others, pink anti-biotic syrup and seborectic showers.

In the waiting room, I met Sua who was very keen to see our pups but was not going to get too near! No thats not a hair band, its actually a (paid for) hair cut style. The owner of this dog wanted to practice his English with me and reminded me of some of the awful experiences I witness when holiday makers ( and some long stay folks ) talk to Thai people. Why is it that people assume that people that cannot speak their language are also deaf?

Later in the day I met up with another Cindy, who is far less shy and accepts food from anyone!

Thursday Vet Run

We have said it before, it will be repeated here, TvT (Transmissible Venereal Disease) treatment is effective.

Today Moom & Phuky are given the all clear and after their individual journeys through the treatment course, they have reacted well to the medication and can now return to their routine lives.

Pat, Cynthia & Kelly are still hanging in there on their 3rd & 4th jabs but it will not be long before these girls are also given a green light for sterilisation & return to their homes.

Recently we became aware that folks reading this diary might be slightly confused about our treatment of TvT cases and we were concerned that people might think the disease was prevalent at the shelter. So in order to assist a clearer understanding, I will explain a little about how we come across these cases.

We are often contacted by dog loving folks to tell us about neglected dogs wandering the streets or of a temple where the numbers of dogs is growing and there being no real source of food or care. We also get calls from folks that see a neighbours dog in a poor condition and we also have our eyes wide open when moving around Chiang Mai, seeing the dog at the traffic lights or the dog with its head in a plastic bag looking for their next meal. And of course we also find cases by chance after the dog has been caught for sterilisation and under anaesthetic, an inspection reveals another problem.

When we first visit these dogs, it is quite apparent there are problems of the skin from loss of hair, blood, wounds etc. But less obvious initially are male & female dogs that either have blood coming from their sex organ, an obvious & visible tumour or at least a persistent licking or chasing of flies away. It is at this point we look closer and try to ascertain if there is a problem that we can help the dog overcome.

Often we find the onset of TvT is advanced and the tumour has developed to quite a size. However, sometimes, it is not until we take the dog to the vet for check, that we find they have a tumour in its early stage of development. Sometimes the initial diagnosis on the street is incorrect. The problem may well be vaginitis or even pyometra, which is an infection of the uterus and can be fatal.

So, as one can see from the above, these cases are not developing at the shelter but once we find a case of TvT ( or pyometra) we will take the dog to the shelter for care during the course of treatment, ensuring regular injections & also improved health overall.

Anyway, back to the vet trip!

Tac, one of the 3 poodles found dumped a few weeks ago on a road in Sankampeng, is the only one still at the shelter as the others, Tik & Toe, have already been adopted to new homes. He is having problems with his skin and today the vet confirmed that we should give regular showers with anti fungal shampoo. He is such an affectionate guy, he must have been in a family environment prior to being dumped.

Next up is Lady. Once again we are checking her blood condition. She is still not gaining weight and although the result of the blood test is overall positive, she still needs another check in 2 weeks time, whilst continuing on antibiotics, to assess if she has bacteria in her bone marrow or not.

Lastly there is Cindy. This puppy is actually last seasons pup of Cynthia. She was born at Wat Gaset Mai in Maejo and like her mother, very skittish and scared of humans. However, she is currently showing lethargy, not eating and losing weight. After a thorough check, the vet suggested we observe for a further 5 days & return for another check. Problem unknown!