Chloe and Her Innocent Puppies

With the advancement of social media, we can often see news spreading far and wide within a short span of time and across the borders effortlessly. Within the animal welfare circle itself, we often get endless appeals for help too especially on Facebook. More often than not, mongrels unfortunately “hog the limelight” - as strict housing regulations disallow legal ownership of them in flats which majority of us reside in, and in some areas without (responsible) caregivers, the unsterilized stray females continue to reproduce - against their wishes.

During early May, J and A were as usual feeding some stray dogs opposite their workplace. One fateful night, there was this pathetic-looking beige female dog appearing all of a sudden in front of them, one which they have never seen before. She was a bag of skin and bones, but J and A could tell that she had just given birth. She wolfed down whatever was given to her and wagged her tail in appreciation, perhaps thinking that they were angels or that this was a beautiful dream to have a rare decent meal. J and A pitied her and gave her more food though her puppies were nowhere to be seen as yet.

 

 

J and A continued feeding Chloe regularly and one to two weeks later, they finally spotted her five puppies. Upon checking with the Myanmar workers at the worksite, the workers told them that the puppies were found on the roadside and fearing for their safety as they were young and vulnerable, the workers brought them into the worksite though they knew it was not a long term solution. The worksite was slated to become a petrol station within a couple of months and Chloe and her puppies will all be homeless then.

 

 

 

Nevertheless, the most critical issue at hand now was Chloe’s health. Chloe was painfully skinny and her private area was extremely swollen. J and A knew something was very wrong, and desperately asked around for help. We were contacted and went down to do a site check within a few days. Chloe was dewormed first and foremost. And as we caught sight of her rear area, we more or less guessed it was another case of Transmissible Venereal Tumour (TVT in short – http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/112500.htm) and a rather severe one. TVT is actually not an uncommon sight for us who come into contact with stray dogs regularly - both the males and female dogs can contract this disease and usually within a single area, we will find a couple of infected dogs with the same problem as they mate with the same female and pass the virus on.

 

 

Chloe managed to gain a bit of weight after deworming but plans were already in the pipeline to trap her as she urgently needed treatment. Chloe had by then become more familiar with J and A and us as she knew that we will not harm her and though she was still fearful of human touch which is normal for a stray, we managed to corner her into a confined area and thereafter into a carrier for ease of transport.

 

 

Over at the clinic, the vet was surprised at how friendly Chloe was as she was wagging her tail as the vet was examining her. Chloe did not put up any form of struggle at all and was very cooperative throughout, requiring no muzzling even when her blood was being taken. We were advised Chloe will need a minimum of six vincristine jabs each a week apart, and we are keeping our fingers crossed that she will be successfully treated. Different dogs have different reactions to the vincristine jabs and it is largely dependent on their own health and immune system too. In the meantime, Chloe will have to be boarded as TVT is contagious and also we need her to dutifully complete her course of treatment.

 

 

 

We are appealing for your kind assistance to help us with Chloe’s medical bills as well as help Chloe’s puppies find homes. We do not wish for them to live their lives out on the streets, especially when they stay in a high culling area and it is only a temporary space. If you are able to contribute for Chloe and/or foster/adopt any of Chloe’s puppies, please contact us at noahsarkcares@gmail.com. Chloe herself will definitely be up for adoption too when she has recovered, as she has an excellent temperament and has been through too much - she deserves so much more like all the other homeless dogs on the streets. Thank you!