Remember the dogs that grew up on fish food? Read here.
Everyone has an oasis in their hearts. It could be a playground, a park, a room, anywhere. For a few of us in the stray feeding team, this oasis is a fish farm on which ten dogs reside. This peaceful hideout might not be the best place for the dogs to live in, but there are kind workers living there who care for the dogs and feed them, and there is something magical about the place that heals the soul and keeps the volunteers going back. It is as if time has stood still at the fish farm and one is transported to paradise.
Hope Dog Rescue volunteers have been visiting the fish farm monthly for years. During each visit, we would feed the dogs and apply frontline for them. Some time ago, the fish farm workers informed us that they could manage and did not need our help, so we stopped going over. Recently, they contacted us for help again so we restarted our monthly fish farm visits, until Covid came. Due to the numerous restrictions, we were unable to visit the fish farm for more than half a year. As we were worried that the workers might have difficulties buying food for the doggies and we could not visit the fish farm for some time, we gave the workers a huge stash of kibbles and canned food before the restrictions kicked in.
For the past few months, we have been checking with the workers whether we could visit again, but they mentioned that there were still many controls in place. We really missed the doggies and could not wait to visit them again. Finally, during the new year, the workers informed us that we could visit. This was such great news for the new year.
Armed with the Christmas goodie bags, big bags of kibbles, frontline, medication, hearts full of anticipation and love, and boxes full of cooked food for the doggies, we set out on our trip to the fish farm. The first thing we noticed was that the familiar happy faces rushing out to greet us and queue for food were missing. It was so sad. Where did the doggies go? Years ago, the fish farm was very different. Before we turned into the fish farm, there would be friendly doggies greeting us outside with wagging tails and sloppy kisses. Concrete slabs had not been put down yet and we had to trod on mud paths to reach the doggies. Now, the fish farm is cleaner and more modern, but some things remain unchanged: the tranquil air, the kind workers and the adorable dogs.
We thought that perhaps the doggies were hiding due to the rain, so we parked our cars and went to the sheltered area where another pack of doggies were at. This pack of doggies is well taken care of by the workers and very chubby and cute. They are quite wary of strangers though and we are only able to apply frontline for them with the help of the kind workers. There are five dogs here: Ah Bui, Xiao Hei, Jimmy, Tiger aka Puli and Lucky aka Shuai Ge. We spent the morning giving out Christmas goodie bags to the workers, mixing the food in the shelter, feeding the cuties treats, applying frontline for them and being amused by their antics.
Not forgetting the other pack of doggies, we opened our umbrellas and went out to look for them. Aha! There they were, happy and cute as usual. Guess they were just hiding from the rain earlier on. The poor doggie that was skin and bones was missing though. Segar, the kind worker who helped to feed the doggies, informed us that the poor skinny doggie had passed away during the circuit breaker period. So sad… we had intended to give him an extra portion of food as he was so skinny. He was always so sweet and we really looked forward to meeting him again. It is so heartbreaking to think that he must have endured so much pain on his own prior to his departure, and that we did not manage to send him for treatment before he passed away. It was likely that he had suffered from heartworm or kidney failure, given that he had a hearty appetite but was still skin and bones. Sorry dear boy... sorry that we did not send you to the vet earlier T___T We hope that he is happy and pain free on the other side of the rainbow bridge.
Besides feeding the pack of dogs outside and applying frontline for them, we also brought ear cleaning solutions to clean their ears as a few of them suffered from hematoma before. We left the solution with Segar so that he could clean their ears regularly. Hopefully it helps to keep their ears clean and free from bacteria.
It was a wet and cold morning but our hearts were warm and toasty from the smiles of the workers and doggies. We were happy to have filled the doggies’ bellies and to have applied flea and tick preventatives for them. Dear fish farm doggies, till we meet again. Please stay safe and healthy in the meantime. xoxo
