Sick Pups from SPCA
 

I adopted 2 puppies (1 month old, mongrels) 2 weeks ago from SPCA Selangor.

After 5 days, the male pup had diarrhea and both pups stopped eating. I took the pups to the vet and found out that pup had comfirmed Parvovirus, a deadly and highly contagious viral disease that attacks youngs pups in particular. On the second day afterr a night at the vet's, dripa and all, the secondpup, a female developed the same symptoms. I then returned the pups to SPCA whn the vet told me the prognosis.

I had all the goood intention of helping out SPCA but if they cannot keep the premises in a healty environment and have their anmals contracing these diseases, I find it hard to go back to them to adopt ther animals in the future.

I adopted a pup from Paws some years ago. They dog was also very sickly but after numerous visits, antibiotic jabs etc etc...for everything under the sun, she survived.

I am really put off from adopting from these places. It ws heart breaking to return the pups to SPCA and spending RM560 for their attempted treatment and adoption fees.

Re: Sick Pups from SPCA
 

Yong, sorry to hear what you have gone through.
To me, it is even more heart-breaking to hear that they have been sent back to SPCA, however, I share no heart-ache for your RM 560 expenses.

You have adopted with good intention, and I am sure SPCA has cared, rehomed the pups in good faith. It doesn't come with guarantee or money-back, just pure intentions (yourself and SPCA) that another deserving pup gets a second chance in life.

If money grows on tree, then probably all these shelters would be able to test each and single animals that are being abandoned at their places.

In this case, love was tested and it didn't pass the "for sickness and in health" promise. It was like "for sickness = SPCA" and "in health = HOME" ...

Re: Sick Pups from SPCA
 

I agree with Sillylupie's comment. I applaud you for adopting your puppies from Paws and SPCA, but expecting them to come to you in perfect health is unreasonable.

In a separate post, Jacinta (from SPCA) mentioned that on average, 600-700 animals are abandoned or brought as strays to SPCA. Imagine! With numbers like that, there is simply no way for the shelters to guarantee adopters that the animals will not have come into contact with highly contagious diseases like parvo, kennel cough, distemper, etc.

As you mentioned, parvo virus is highly contagious, and several other Petfinder members have complained of losing puppies to it that they've bought from pet shops. I laugh when I see some of the pet sellers here offering 7-10 day health guarantees. It may be weeks or months before a pup shows symptoms, and by then the seller has pocketed your high purchase price, leaving you with the vet bills and a desperately sick dog.

I sympathise with your heartbreak. I have also adopted pets over the years and met with some sad surprises. But that's part of having pets. As Lupie said, it's a commitment for the lifetime of the pet, and there are going to be vet bills, no matter what. That is not true only of pets that come from shelters, although they are the ones most in need of our help... {sick}

Re: Sick Pups from SPCA
 

Dear Yong,

Am sorry to hear about your sad experience. I am very sure before an adoption of any puppies, the vets will always forewarn about how risky it is to adopt puppies from the shelter. This is the reason why we do not encourage all to adopt puppies unless the people know and understand the risk they are taking. In many occasions, "dumped" puppies were taken out immediately for fostering unless we know the back ground of it and it stays.

Please understand, the puppies received at SPCA are mostly with unknown background and strays picked up from almost anywhere. With the numbers of furry babies we have at our shelter, i doubt its going to be disease or virus free. Most of it are air borne.

Yong, this is a test from God, do not stop yourself from helping the helpless animals. Regardless where they are from. If you have doubt with the shelters, please do not stop others from coming.

Yong, another suggestion, you may also help strays from the streets. I guess they are quite clean compare to the shelters with hundreds of unwanted / abandoned / abused animals.

Peace be upon you. Please do not give up hope.{victory}

Re: Sick Pups from SPCA
 

kak anum.
ada anjing besarrrrrrrr sangat warna putih kat pintu masuk tu
itu untuk adoption gak ker?
sangat pemalu la itu anjing, bila kita pandang muka dia, cepat2 dia alihkan pandangan
cuteee

Re: Sick Pups from SPCA
 

Yup! He is a mountain dog, found in Hulu Langat. I pun pelik macam mana orang boleh hilang anjing sebesar tu. Dah tu tak pulak dicarinya.{sick}

Itulah manusia... anjing tu anjing mahal pulak tu. Beribu2 ringgit harganya. Banyak sangat irresponsible pet owner...

La ni banyak dah orang dok nak adopt, tapi kami berhati2 dan bukan kerana duit, tapi kerana takut tak terjaga...

p/s: dah call Pris ke?{grin}

Re: Sick Pups from SPCA
 

my pren aka hatemetoday yg akan kol pris. sebabnyer kak kitorang nak pi antar anak sama2. meriah sket!!!.

tu la, anjing tu tersangatla besar. anjing tu makan apa ekk?

Re: Sick Pups from SPCA
 

You know , it is funny how people can pre-judge you ever so easily. To some members, maybe RM560 is loose change but to me, a retiree, it is a lot of cash. I have another old dog I resuced from Paws 13 years ago and I had to return the puppies. I cannot risk my old dog getting Parvo, which, by the way is deadly(although less so in adult dogs) and I am sure SPCA put the puppies down immediately after I returned it.

They would not be so irresponsible to put the puppies up for rehoming again unless they want the Parvo to go on the music chairs round and kill off half the younger dogs in SPCA and potentially other dogs of the adoptees household. By the way, the pups were so sick , they could not even lift their heads and was de-hydrated even with after drip my vet administered for a day. Blood were coming out with the stools and they stopped eating completely.

Yes, I could probably keep them and spend another RM260 per day per pup but I am a person whose mind rules over the heart. The vet gave me virtually less than 50% of survival even with blood transfusion etc. I know some will be willing to spend a few thousand ringgit just to try to save the pups...'in sickness and in health', if you have money to spare. It is always easier to say than do it yourself. Proof of the pudding is in the eating....so until you have actually forked out several thousands of RM to save pups with those slim chances of survival, don't even begin to pass judgement.

By the way, if I never expected these pups to be 100% healthy, what do you expect from PAWS & SPCA? I have had experiences taking dogs before from PAWS.

By the way, Mrs. Doolittle, my ex-vet has warned me not to take dogs from shelters, a vet, yes...that is why he is my ex-vet.

Re: Sick Pups from SPCA
 

The breed is call Italian Pyrenees, its a mountain dog used for rescuing...

Dia makan makanan biasa je... macam anjing lain jugak... but dia ni Giant Breed... jenis anjing gergasi... Tak sesuai dengan cuaca kita kat Malaysia...{sick}

Re: Sick Pups from SPCA
 

oww.. kesiannyer dia. itu kalo nak adopt, berapa nilai dia tu kak anum. apa syarat nak adopt anjing besar camtu? dia kalo menyalak, kuat tak? sebab ari tu mcm dengar tak dengar ajer suara dia

Re: Sick Pups from SPCA
 

NApe? Nak ke?... tak banyak dalam rm300... mahal ke? VAccinate, neuter, deworm & heart worm test...

So far tak pernah dengar dia menyalak... he is a gentle giant...{shy} betul tak tipu... very well behave...

Re: Sick Pups from SPCA
 

Yong, if you could read my thread properly... its nothing against you. First of all they were a month old puppies... why do you adopt them the first place... it is not an easy task and a RISK you have to take, adopting from a shelter (s). Its not about Paws or SPCA its about helping the animals out of the hell hole. Full stop...

I've checked with the shelter, you have signed a form stated the risk you are taking for any adoption (s). We did also offer 2 replacements for the "sick puppies". Instead, you were very nice when you came back with the puppies and informed us about the parvo virus, also telling us to clean up the cages.

Why didn't you take any replacement? Come back and select grown up dogs...{victory}

Re: Sick Pups from SPCA
 

yus..amacam? amek la yus buat jaga petknode...bleh aku tumpang manja2 ngan anjing besar nih...agak2 kalo aku yg comel ni bediri seblah dia sape lagik tinggi...{shy}{shy} {cry2}

pris nak no. vocer..yus sms aku no nye..sat lagik aku nak sms pris details. tks

Re: Sick Pups from SPCA
 

mestila anjing tu lagi tinggi dari ko!

aku dah PM nombor vocher tu. cek cek
ko nak pi time deepavali kan?????

Re: Sick Pups from SPCA
 

That's why I say money don't grow on tree ...

Many here don't pick our money off the tree, we worked, but we decide that our adopted feline or canine friends are worth every single penny we spent on them.

I was in your shoes before, I adopted a kitten who contracted a deadly disease. However, unlike yourself, I kept him, I knew he was my responsiblity the very day I took him home.
After hundred of ringgits of diagnostic fees (which I had to pay off very slowly on my cc), he didn't survive, but I am glad I was there to hold him, shed some tears, for he will know that he had been loved and will be missed.

Re: Sick Pups from SPCA
 

Its a very sad thing when a new pup/kit you rescued from a shelter falls sick. The owner faces the dilemma of whether to put the pup to sleep, give it back, or try to keep it. Personally I can understand Yongs feelings at the turn of events.

Firstly though, I wonder why the month old pups were put up for adoption? Did they come with their mother to the shelter, or were the pups alone? 1 month is a pretty young age, and if not on mothers milk, more likely than not, they will be sick.

I think SPCA should also take the responsibility to verbally inform adopters about the risks of adopting a pup from a shelter. Like it or not, thats how things are, we can't vaccinate everything and guarantee perfect health .. even pet sellers can't and dont do that.

Another thing SPCA can do is to inspect pups regularly, if they are vomiting/diarrhea/very lethargic, I think as the Shelter should take the responsibility to either treat (either self or vet), as well as to take those pups off the adoption list and isolate them until its better. If an adopter insists on adopting the sick pup, they should be informed of the potential risks and costs. Thats what I usually see the Malacca SPCA do.

As for the adopters, just be aware when you adopt a pup they may not be in perfect health. The shelter does all it can, but as they are usually undermanned and underfunded, a lot of things can slip past. Try to observe the pups over a period of time before adopting, maybe come back and visit them over a few days before making the decision to take one home. And as soon as possible, vaccinate the dogs, and don't bring them out for walks (so they dont sniff other dogs poo/get infected from outside) until they are fully vaccinated. THIS GOES FOR ALL NEW PUPS IMO! I personally am of the opinion people like showing off their new puppy by bringing them out (esp pedigrees, and those pups arent exposed to germs like mongrel pups too, so they dont have much immunity). Unfortunately as they are no longer on moms milk and not fully vaccinated, its too easy to pick up germs when sniffing around the ground. If there are dogs walking around, theres dog poo, even if we don't see it.

On a side note, do other SPCA's vaccinate their dogs or pups before they are given out after people confirm the adoption? Malacca doesn't. I was pretty impressed when I adopted a dog from a person who adopted her from PAWS. She came spayed AND vaccinated. He gave me her card with the vaccinated stickers (6 disease vacc). Cost him about RM300 I believe. She is a little pom-spitz mix, adult, estimated (by me, hah) to be 5 or more yrs old.

Re: Sick Pups from SPCA
 

I have extensive experience in nursing pups from over 15 years of rescuing abandon week old to month old pups on my own. Never had one that died on me and they grew up to be very healthy dogs which lived to ripe of ages past 15 years with just their annual visits to the vet for vaccinations, heart worm treatment and deworming.

What I was not prepared, I suppose was taking puppies from shelters (apart from the one from PAWS). I now fully understand the risk of adopting young pups from shelters.

Anyway, Thanks for the offer of replacement pups, I have an old dog left who is not exactly easy to get along. Any new adult dogs will find it hard to fit in with the old gal.

The adoption fees, consider it a donation which if you checked your records, I have been giving regularly to SPCA (and PAWS) over the years.

Re: Sick Pups from SPCA
 

I hope you aren't put off from adopting another pup in time from shelters. When you're ready again, give it another try, or try to adopt from a private rescuer if you prefer :)

Re: Sick Pups from SPCA
 

Have decided to adopt some puppies from a friend's dogs who has just given birth some weeks ago. Second time lucky I hope.

I will be leaving the pups with them for another 2 to 3 weeks for them to grow older and stronger before taking them home.

Must move on and my house needs those dogs.

Re: Sick Pups from SPCA
 

Yongpf, firstly i would like to congratulate you for your afford to adopt dogs from SPCA. Keep up the good work.

It is normal for Puppies from SPCA to be sick. This is because those are abandoned dogs from streets or abused by their previous owner. Once you adopt a dog then you must be prepared to face the worse. Even puppies that you bought from breeders or pet shop cannot be guaranteed to be healthy. So it's really not anybody's fault on this matter.

I'm currently owner to 2 adopted dogs. Those 2 when i first adopted them, are abused, bald with almost no fur left on their body, sick, skinny and malnutritioned. Not that I want to brag about it, but if you see both of them today you might have thought that i bought it from a pedigree breeder or something. Each of them drained my 2 months of hard earned salary for food, treatment, vitamin supplements, accessories, bath, vaccine, deworm and etc.... when i first adopted them. {oh}

So, if you feel that you cannot cope with such cost then it is advisable to adopt one at a time or just adopt those that are already rescued and cared by members of petfinder.my. You might have to pay a little sum to compensate for the afford and money spent to care for those dogs but it's really worth it. {good}

Try asking around members of petfinder.my, i'm sure they have a lot of dogs up for adoption. {grin} You'll be proud that you are saving furkids that are i need of good owners. Good luck on your next adoption and all the best!