Saturday, December 19, 2009

Who feeds the dogs?



















We had our little gathering at the pound but almost all of us were very late because we couldn’t find our way to the place. Anyway, the sight that greeted us was heart-wrenching and all of us left the place feeling desolate and frustrated because we couldn’t do much for the poor dogs. They were lying in the own feces and urine with nothing to drink and eat.
Some were breathing heavily, indicating that they were suffering from lung infection or pneumonia whilst some others appeared to be too weak to even move. There were also dogs which had open wounds.
We brought three large bags of dog biscuits and fed the starving dogs as soon as we got there. We also had a television crew with us because we wanted MPK to realize that not feeding the dogs at the pound was morally wrong. Soon after the television crew had finished the job, I called the MPK health director, who was not contactable, the whole of last week. Surprisingly, he picked-up the phone after the second ring this time around.
He was furious and said the local council by-laws did not have provisions to feed the dogs. “We are not a shelter but a holding center,’’ he said. In short, he was telling us that MPK was not obligated to feed the dogs. That MPK did not care if these poor animals starved to death. However, he has forgotten that the Department of Veterinary Services’ guidelines strictly stipulate that dogs have to be given food and water and ensured a clean environment pending euthanasia.
Given that the Veterinary Services Department is a federal body and the local councils are the lowest rung of the administrative system – the local councils have to adhere to what has been stipulated by the DVS in regard to the catching and management of strays.
We will be meeting this person on Monday and hopefully he gets the picture. Meanwhile, one of the dogs that were not in the enclosure followed us out of the compound and we brought her back.
The dogs were 'calling out to us' and some tried to desperately wriggle out of the enclosure. One young dog stood on the sill all the time we were there. It broke our hearts to see them like that.
We couldn’t remove any of the other dogs because we had to make arrangements with the MPK to pay the compound. Anyway, the dogs we brought back tested negative for parvo, corona and distemper but tested positive for the pregnancy test. So, she is currently at a foster home until we find her a permanent home.
Besides this dog, we also have with us 20 puppies and 2 dogs that was give to us by MyAnimalCare. Several have been sent to foster homes and two distemper/parvo puppies had to be dispatched to Gemas, which is located at the Negri Sembilan-Johor border, where a family had volunteered to take care of them.
We hope that some of you reading this can atleast take one of the pound dogs under your care. Let us know and we will make the necessary arrangements.

PUP




This poor puppy was skin and bones when MyAnimalCare brought her to us from the Klang pound. She must have had very little to eat and must have been drinking contaminated water, that is why her urine was bloody. She was also infected with parvo and distemper. Given her condition, the poor pup only lasted several days and our only consolation is that she was well taken care off for a day or two by her fosterer Mandy before the inevitable happened.

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Peaceful Protest

Given the gravity of the dog catching rampage in Klang - MDDB is calling for a peaceful gathering of animal lovers and sympathisers at Klang Municipal Council Dog Pound this Saturday between 12.00pm to 1.00pm. We have no other choice other than doing this to show the council that they should immediately stop what they are doing to prevent the unnecessary suffering of these animals as well the possible outbreak of distemper, parvo and corona outbreak in Klang. Please join us - you can bring banners and placards as well as canddles to remember the dogs whih had suffered and died at the pound. The dogs are kept at Pusat Kurungan Haiwan, Kawasan Perindustrian Bandar Sultan Sulaiman, Northport. Call us at 019-3576477, 012-3739007 or write to us to find out more.

Pound Puppies and Dog

Cindy, on the road to recovery after her wound had been cleaned out.
The little pup's urine with was thick with blood - probably urinary tract infection. Thank go our friend Mandy is fostering it.
The little puppy who is skin and bones. She has distemper and corona.

The pound puppy looking for food.

The little Gremlins huddled-up at the clinic after being tested.

Another frightened little pup that was infested with ticks.

Waiting at the vets after rescue - this puppy had probably been starving for days.

Waiting at the vets

At the vets

Positive for distemper and corona

At the vets - this pup tested negative but did not have any appetite today

Distemper and Corona

This pup tested negative but is coughing and has blood in her feces

We are desperate. We have placed six sick puppies with fosterers and need more people to take in the rest until they are well. they four that tested negative yesterday seem to have other problems - one has a prolapsed anus, another is coughing and a third seems to have lost its apetite.
We also have six puppies which are so traumatised that they have become little monsters of sorts. Its starting all over for us and we are going to be horribly strapped for cash as treating these pups can be very expensive.
We are thankful that a friend and fellow rescuer has taken in the mother dog and four pups for us temporarily. We also have Cindy with the facial wounds to care for in addition to the distemper, parvo and corona cases.
To make matters worse - we have our healthy puppies at the half way home that are pending adoption. We do not want to compromise on their well-being and need to get them adopted as soon as possible. Please help. Our apologies for the pics being all mixed-up - but the captions will explain. The puppies had rafia string tied around their necks to identify the infections - blue for parvo, green for distemper and yellow for corona.
You'll note that some of the puppies have nore than one coloured string and this means that they have multiple infections.

The Klang Pound fiasco

Pix courtesey of MyAnimalCare - a dog which dropped dead at the pound.

Pix courtesey of MyAnimalCare - Another dead dog.

Pix courtesey of MyAnimalCare - Cindy, had wanted to be rescued but they couldn't take her a there were no vets to treat her facial wounds daily at where they were taking her to. She is now with us. The vet told us that her wounds were due to probably acid being splashed on her.

Pix courtesey of MyAnimalCare - Scene at the pound

Pix courtesey of MyAnimalCare - Scene at the pound

Pix courtesey of MyAnimalCare - Scene at the pound

Scene at the pound
Scene at the pound Scene at the pound

Scene at the pound

Scene at the pound

Scene at the pound
The Klang Municipal Council is at it again soon after the Pulau Ketam fiasco. This time around they have sent their dog catchers on a rampage to catch dogs several times a day including at night.
The dog catchers are paid an allowance of RM 10 for every dog caught in addition to their monthly salaries as MPK employees. As a result many many pet dogs have been detained and taken to the MPK pound in Bandar Sultan Sulaiman.
Now, in order for such massive dog catching operations to be carried out, the pound must have the proper infrastructure such as an isolation bay, quarantine area as well as separate holding areas for pets and strays.
When dogs are stressed, deadly infections such as distemper, parvo and corona sets in. These infections are deadly and very very contagious.
Picture this:
An pet owner comes to the pound to ‘bail out’ his dog which had been placed in the cage with many other dogs, some of them infected with these deadly viruses. Of course, the pet dog has a 90 percent chance of infection.

The owner takes the dog back and he has other dogs at home. All of them will also be infected and the infection will also quickly spread to pets owned by anyone who visits the home as well as other dogs in the vicinity. What results next is a pandemic of massive proportions.
Those managing and running the operations at the MPK haven’t the faintest idea what these viruses are but yet go on cramming the pound with countless dogs daily. When queried they say they are acting because of numerous complaints by Klang residents.
But Klang residents also complain about potholes, overgrown bushes, clogged drains and restaurants located in houses, as well as many other things – but nothing has ever been done about these things.
I know – I am after all a Klang resident.
To make matters worse – there is no budget in their dog catching antics for food and so the dogs are being starved. Some appear to have died of starvation. Several NGOs including us have dispatched dog biscuits but how long can we do this?

Don’t they know that they have to make provisions for food when embarking on such a big blood-thirsty enterprise?
Anyway, another NGO My Animal Care has rescued almost 36 dogs from the pound and sent them off to a sanctuary. They have also given us 21 puppies and 2 dogs. Eight of the 21 puppies tested positive for distemper, corona and parvo viruses. This has proven our fears that the clueless MPK folks are cross contaminating dogs indiscriminately.

There are now being cared for by us and our fosterers. We are desperately hoping that the rest are safe. The second batch of puppies brought in by MyAnimalCare were so traumatized that they were ferocious and behaved like gremlins.
They will need a lot of time before they feel safe being around people. They bit the vet as well as her assistant who were testing them for the viruses. Can’t the Pakatan Rakyat do something? Are they so bloody weak that they have no control over the local councils? Or is that because they don’t give a rat’s posterior about these dogs which are deemed defiling?
Whatever it is Selangor is supposed to be a developed state – what’s the point of being a developed state when the local councils are still so very neanderthal ? And ideal situation would be for the local council to have educational programmes in tandem with the Department of Veterinary Services (DVS) to educate the people of Klang on pet care and the importance to neuter. They should also emabrk on the TrapNeuterAndRelease/Manage (TNR/TNM) programme to battle the stray problems. If it can work in Indonesia, India and nepal so well - it should work very very well in a developed state like Selangor.
Have a look at the pics.

HELP!














We received this frantic email and are wondering if anyone would like to volunteer to come with us to perhaps remove the dog? We have a location map. Anyone interested ---- please e-mail malaysiandogsdeservebetter@gmail.com or call 0193576477.
====================================================================

Hi,
I hope you can do something for this pityful dog. I've tried to seek help from SPCA twice, but unfortunately - the dog is still being chained there day/night, rain or shine.....

----- Forwarded Message ----
Sent: Wed, November 18, 2009 4:14:18 AMSubject: Dog being chained in the rain in Kepong area..... Please help!!!


Hi,

As discussed, this is the dog being chained in the rain days/nights. I first discovered him/her when I was in this area for an appt at night , and he was chained in the dark in a pouring rain..... That was almost one week ago. I have not forgotten him; I went back again this afternoon, hoping not to see him/her there, but unfortunately, he is still there being chained in the rain!!! Please talk to the owner and educate them the proper way to treat a dog, this is very cruel. Please try to do something soon because it's been raining for days..... poor dog will be shivering and get sick easily in this cold and wet weather. I do not know the exact address there but it's near SRJK (Chinese) Kepong . It's an open space with bushes and trees next to a shop selling metal material etc. Here is the map for your reference. Hope you can rescue this dog from this sad situation. Thanks and God bless.
Mary