Puppies 4 Ever

So the follow-on to my earlier story Don't Play God, is that it's mostly worked out for the best. Despite the trauma of that weekend, 3 out of 4 of the dogs I had sterilized are doing great. 1, (my favourite) is not doing so well - her wound burst, but I've had her re-admitted to the vets to patch her up and keep an eye on her and the advantage is that she gets fed twice a day and it will give us an opportunity to vaccinate her properly (I'm sure she doesn't feel it's advantageous!).

She really is the sweetest thing, probably about 18mths, thin as a rake, has a bung back leg which I haven't been able to get to the bottom of. She finds it difficult to put weight on it, but can run around like a mad creature! Anyway, if she sees me or DY she comes running from 30 mtrs away at full belt and then does this crazy skid around us (normally ending flat on her face) then dances around us until the excitement fades! She's just gorgeous, and we call her 'Flopsy'. (Enough already I hear the non animal lovers cry).

I'm hoping that I can find a dog lover amongst our growing number of friends who will provide her with a safe haven. The streets are brutal here, and you know when you can just tell that one won't survive? She's literally half the size of her sisters (all 7 of them - now you know why I'm so passionate about sterilization), so doesn't do too well in the food stakes. Anyway, I don't need to worry for 4 days as she's safely recuperating at the vets.

Speaking of those who won't survive - the puppies we've been feeding are doing grand! The 3 girls are growing by the day, and whilst the boy puppy is the runt, he's quite feisty when he feels like it. They're now days away from rehoming - one more worming session, and a parvo injection on Tuesday and hopefully they're outta here. We've already got interested takers for 2/3. The others I'm going to move to another basement area, as these guys are beginning to get more adventurous and I'm worried about the outcome if they get in the way of the builders (plus I'm scared for my own safety when I have to go down there on my own if DY is away).

What's transpired from this whole exercise is that there's a fascinating cultural divide in Sri Lanka in relation to the sex of dogs. Everyone wants boy dogs because they won't have babies. There's a real stigma associated with the females, and even when I stress that I'll pay for the sterilization, people quickly lose interest. Which particularly in this situation is crazy - the girls are so strong! Anyway, I may not like it, but I just have to work with it.

May I say that DY has been an absolute saint through all this? It's bloody hard work (as well as being expensive); we have to get up at 6am to feed them, then check on them post work, worming, mange injections, vaccinations. And he's only complained a couple of times, which given that this has been going on for a month now is positively saintly. Thank you DY. I can't promise that it's ever going to change, but I do appreciate your support. You're a brick!