GOOD NEWS

We are very happy to inform that all the dogs infected with the distemper virus are doing fine.

Thank you to all our supporters and friends who had helped us through this difficult time with donations to pay for the expensive immune boosters as well as veterinary care.

We would also like to inform members of the veterinary fraternity who opined that distemper is beyond treatment and treating these animals were a waste money - THAT THEY HAVE BEEN PROVEN WRONG.

Proper medication and care can help dogs fight the distemper virus - we have seen this ourselves and would like to inform pet owners NOT TO LISTEN TO VETS WHO ADVISE THEM TO PUT THEIR INFECTED DOGS TO SLEEP.

Get immune boosters and vitamins as well as force feed the dogs when they lose their appetites and you'll see how fast they recover. Call us and we will also try our best to help you.

Don't get spooked - put the infected dogs in a cage and keep them isolated from your other dogs and remember to wash your hand with a disinfectant after touching them.

I would also like to advise a particular so-called senior vet in Subang Jaya not to behave like a fish wife by bad mouthing our efforts and the vets who work with us.

You make money out of sick animals because it is your profession and we respect that.

However, please understand that we do what we do because it is our calling to help animals in distress - please respect us for this instead of persecuting us with baseless allegations.

We would also like to thank Dr Edmond Yeoh, who brought the six-month-old puppy 'back to life'. He didn't give up whilst some others vets said they were considering putting the puppy down.

We also thank all the fosterers who took in the infected dogs into their homes to nurse them back to health. We are all very humbled with this humane gesture.

Bless all of you for helping us help them.

URGENT APPEAL

URGENT APPEAL

We are concerned about a six-month old puppy which is currently at the Ara Damansara clinic. It has distemper which is getting worse - with the eyes cloudy.

There is still hope for this poor puppy but according to friends who went to administer ozone therapy - the condition which the puppy is being kept at the clinic will only make it worse.

The puppy is kept in a closed-up room which is also only cleaned when the clinic's helper has completed all other chores - and this is more often than not late in the afternoon or even evening.

The vets also attend to the puppy only after they have completed all their work and this is also late in the afternoon or evening.

The windows of the room is also kept shut and this is resulting in the puppy not having clean air to breathe.

It is unfortunate that the vets are so spooked that the puppy's well-being is being compromised.

Another much experienced vet has offered to admit the puppy in his clinic and administer treatment until its condition is stable - we hope that someone will take the poor puppy in and nurse it back to health after the kind vet has stabilised it.

We have placed several infected dogs and puppies in foster homes and they appear to be doing better and on the way to recovery.

Therefore, we are hoping that someone would come forward to help nurse this puppy back to health in their home.

The said puppy had gone through a lot of trauma at the pound and therefore deserves a chance to live.

Please help save this unfortunate puppy's life.

Plesae call - 019-3576477 or 019-3203875 for details.

In The News

http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2009/3/7/central/3419755&sec=central

Saturday March 7, 2009

Seven dogs rescued from pound tested positive for distemper

By WANI MUTHIAH

THE director of a non-governmental organisation that has launched a canine welfare programme, is seeking public help to save the lives of dogs rescued from a local council pound in Kuala Lumpur recently.

Community Development and Integration Initiative (CDII) director Firoza Buranudeen said seven of the dogs in a recent batch rescued from the pound tested positive for distemper.

Distemper is a viral infection, which is similar to chicken pox and measles in humans, and deadly to dogs if left untreated.

CDII’s venture into animal welfare programmes took off last year when the organisation launched its Malaysian Dogs Deserve Better (MDDB) project, spurred by the precarious existence of dogs in the country.

According to Firoza, distemper could be countered with the isolation of the infected dogs, which would be administered high doses of vitamins to strengthen their immune systems.

However, she added, almost all veterinary clinics did not have isolation wards and most veterinarians would turn away infected dogs lest their clients’ dogs catch the virus.

“Given this, we have placed our infected dogs in homes of kind people willing to foster them and our veterinary clinic has prescribed the necessary vitamins,” she said.

Firoza said the outbreak had depleted the project’s funds and she hoped the public would once again help CDII help these displaced dogs.

“Please help us to help them,” she said, explaining that dogs could contract the distemper virus at pounds from non-disinfected cages that became a thriving breeding ground for the virus, as well as overcrowding.

She said the CDII would also initiate meetings with local councils to recommend that holding cages be disinfected regularly and that captured dogs be kept in better conditions.

“When dogs are caught off the streets, it must be with the mindset that they may be rescued and rehomed as opposed to the belief that they would all be put to sleep,’’ she added.

Firoza also said the CDII would continue to rescue dogs from the pounds even if they tested positive for distemper or any other canine viruses.

“We will nurse them back to health and find families that will adopt them,” she said.
Firoza noted that an increasing number of pet dogs were ending up in municipal council pounds.

“We know that they are pet dogs because they have collars and some are purebreeds,” she said.
She added that it was sad that some owners, who had been careless enough to allow their dogs to be caught, did not come to claim them from the pounds.

The CDII is also looking for more veterinary clinics which are willing to work with it in its canine rescue mission.

“Currently, we work with one clinic each in Klang and Petaling Jaya, but we need to work with more clinics due to the increasing number of rescues we carry out,” she said, adding that the clinics would be paid for their services.

For details, write to: malaysiandogsdeservebetter@gmail.com or visit http://malaysiandogsdeservebetter.blogspot.com/

Why We Do What We Do

POPIKO MAIL

Jojo on the day of her rescue being examined by our vets.

Jojo in her new home after being adopted by Som Ye.

Jojo having a whale of a time at the beach Jojo enjoying the waves

Jojo letting her ears down at the beach

Jojo and her new sister Kiki going crazy on the beach

Jojo and Kiki bonding at the beach

Sometime last month my human friends visited the Setapak doggie pound on two occasions and rescued a good number of doggies and puppies. One of them was Sister Beagle. She was probably scheduled to be put down soon as she was rescued from the cage where dogs were placed when no one comes for them. She had a very bad skin condition as well and received treatment at our vets. One day a nice lady called Som Ye came to the clinic and fell in love with Sister Beagle. She took her home and named her Jojo. Jojo now lives with her new human and another beagle named Kiki. She is leading a happy life and gets to go to interesting places almost every weekend. Jojo's stroke of good luck has made us all veery happy. And its happy endings such as this that makes us continue rescuing, treatinga nd rehoming.

Woof, Woof,

Sharmini Popiko Sasha (SPS) with tail wagging non-stop

P/S Thank you Auntie Som Ye and bless you for giving Jojo a happy home.

RED ALERT

Dear people,

we are in big trouble has our funds have been wiped out after several of our rescued dogs tested positive for distemper. They are all on medication to boost the immunity and this is is rather expensive.

Furthermore, we have been coming across many many syray puppies and we have been told this is the post-mating season!

Keeping them pending adoption has also taken a toll on our funds.

Until we are able to consolidate monthly grants from corporate donors, we have no choice but rely on members of the public to help us out.

Therefore, we are once again appealing for donations to help us help the dogs.

Those who want to donate could do so by - Cheques in favour of:

1). Animal Health Center @ Ara,

or

2). Thomas Animal Clinic & Pet Corner,


c/o No 48, Jalan Jeriji U8/75C,

Bukit Jelutong, 40150, Shah Alam, Selangor.

Or bank into:

Animal Health Center @ Ara,

Maybank Account: 512352602980

If you have banked in your contribution please call 019-3576477.

For further details please call 019-3576477 as well.

HIGH ALERT

HIGH ALERT

Dear all,

We have an emergency situation at hand and need urgent help. Some of the dogs brought from the pound have tested positive for distemper. However, they do not have any symptoms and appear to be okay. Therefore, they have to be removed from the Ara Clinic as we do not want to infect the healthy dogs.

We’re also looking for other clinics with isolation wards that can take a dog or two. And we are also looking for fosterers who can take these dogs in as they will have to be fed with medication and a high dosage of vitamins to battle the infection.

The distemper virus is like the measles and chicken pox virus in humans. The virus is not transmissible to humans, cats as well as older dogs and vaccinated dogs.

Puppies up to 6 months old are however vulnerable. Therefore if you have older vaccinated dogs or only cats, you can take in a dog and nurse it back to health.

These dogs have escaped the jaws of death at the pound and it is only fair that we collectively fight to ensure that they make it through this hurdle.

All you have to do is to isolate the dog – cages and medication - will be provided and ensure that it takes all its medicine and is fed nourishing meals. You can wash your hand in a mixture of one part of Clorox and 30 parts of water.

The virus also does not survive very long in room temperature and it’s good if you place the dog’s cage in a sunny area – not directly under the sun though.

Please help us help them.

Write to - malaysiandogsdistemperalert@gmail.com

Please call: 019-3576477 or 019-3203875

Please also alert us if you know of any experienced vets who would like to assist us in our rescue work. They would of course be paid. After this experience we feel that we should break our rescued dogs in several groups and sent to several different vets.

Meet Holly

POPIKO MAIL

The wound after being cleaned soon after rescue from pound

The wound the following day

Healed and happy and with a friend

Finally, having the opportunity to be a puppy again after a dreadful experience

Dear Peeps,

meet miracle baby Holly who has proven that a little love, care and compassion can go a long way in making a little pup believe in herself. Holly, was rescued from the scarry DBKL pound by an uncle and auntie last some Mondays ago. Little Holly had a wound near her tail which must have been inflicted when she was crammed in a cage with bigger dogs and pups in the pound. When my human an Auntie Eileen first saw her the wound had turned into a festering soggy mess and little Holly appeared to be in intense pain. They brought her to a clinic in gasing which refused to admit her because they feared that she had the parvo virus. Luckily for us a lovely person called Lynette agreed to foster Holly. Lynette took Holly to a clinic in Hartamas and this clinic immediately admitted her and gave her the necessary treatment. Within days, Holly blosommed into a happy little puppy which was a complete transformation of her old self. To Lynette and the vets in Hartamas - bless you all for your kindness and compassion. Because you care - a litthe puppy now has the chance to lead a happy an fulfilling life. Thank you kind people.

Woof, Woof,

Sharmini Popiko Sasha (SPS)