A very frightened, skitterish half-starved young white dog appeared outside my apt bldg about 6 weeks ago. She’s short-haired, medium sized and has brownish, greyish, blackish circles around both eyes. I had to throw food her way the first time but after that, she comes up to me and over time has allowed me to pat her head and now to even rub her belly. I think someone must have owned her at one point and just abandoned her. I see that she’s hooked up with 4 or 5 dogs who live just up the street. The problem is that none of those dogs owners are feeding her. I’ve talked to them and I don’t think they’ll take it up. My neighbour upstairs fed her every night but has now left for a two year stay in the U.S. I’m leaving this Friday for summer vacation and won’t return until Aug 28th. I think a boy in my bldg will feed her nightly but from the sounds of it, he might be unreliable at times. Also, his parents said they want to go away on holidays. We don’t know of anyone else who will take on the responsibility.
She needs a real home or I’m sure she’ll begin to starve again. Please help.
Autumn489
I realize that most of you live in Taipei so may not be as interested in this story since it’s here in Hualien. However, I just wanted to say that I have now adopted Xiao Bai. Even though I was feeding her after returning here late August, she developed a nasty skin disease. Apparently, it was caused by ticks and fleas, as well as being a bacterial infection. She needed immediate attention so I had her treated by a vet and brought her in. My suspicions were confirmed that she had a previous owner. To my delight, she is house-trained but unfortunately cowers dreadfully if I raise my voice to reprimand her for something so I now find alternatives to being stern. She’s turning into a lovely pet. She’s anxious to please, growls at the TV but NEVER barks - not even once. She’s happy to stay outside on the patio but also enjoys being close to her humans. The vet gave her a bath, shaved her hair, gave her antibiotics and treated her sores. Her hair is growing back in now but she still has a lot of redness. It will take a couple more treatments to cure this completely.
I gave her “Frontline”, the flea and tick liquid applied between her shoulders. My problem is that she continues to scratch all the time. I’m concerned this will irritate her skin condition. Does anyone know how long it takes for the flea medication to kick in? Is there anything I can do in the meantime?
[quote=“coralsands”]I realize that most of you live in Taipei so may not be as interested in this story since it’s here in Hualian. However, I just wanted to say that I have now adopted Xiao Bai. Even though I was feeding her after returning here late August, she developed a nasty skin disease. Apparently, it was caused by ticks and fleas, as well as being a bacterial infection. She needed immediate attention so I had her treated by a vet and brought her in. My suspicions were confirmed that she had a previous owner. To my delight, she is house-trained but unfortunately cowers dreadfully if I raise my voice to reprimand her for something so I now find alternatives to being stern. She’s turning into a lovely pet. She’s anxious to please, growls at the TV but NEVER barks - not even once. She’s happy to stay outside on the patio but also enjoys being close to her humans. The vet gave her a bath, shaved her hair, gave her antibiotics and treated her sores. Her hair is growing back in now but she still has a lot of redness. It will take a couple more treatments to cure this completely.
I gave her “Frontline”, the flea and tick liquid applied between her shoulders. My problem is that she continues to scratch all the time. I’m concerned this will irritate her skin condition. Does anyone know how long it takes for the flea medication to kick in? Is there anything I can do in the meantime?[/quote]
The scratching could also exist from an allergic reaction to the dog food. My parents dog used to scratch for no reason until I mentioned that they should try a different food. If it is just from the ticks/fleas skin disease I am not sure what you can do. I am sure someone down here in hualien can give you some advice.
PM totallytika she is a Hualien expat who is active with dogs. She might be able to help or suggest a second vet.
TotallyTika ROCKS. She’s currently fostering Grace, the dog I found…(that went blind)
She also takes pics of strays in Hualien and tries to educate the masses by writing articles for Highway11.