The cold season has began and with a heavy heart we have to witness an annual dilemma of distemper patients coming to our attention.

We have recently admitted some patients to our quarantine room – two of them have passed away already.

Another dog, Gogo, was admitted to the veterinarian clinic for IV-treatment today as she is totally emaciated and doesn’t eat any more.

The condition of a Golden Retriever Tisa who had been dumped on the streets is also getting worse and she looks at us with sad eyes.

Then there are puppies Holly and Kim, just 8 weeks old, and we don’t know yet if they will make it. It is very saddening to see how the situation of these dogs is getting worse and knowing that though giving them care and medicine their chances to survive this terrible virus disease are limited.

Cats are also affected by cat distemper. Today we received a call from a temple. Four cats have died in anguish and the monk asked us to bring the fifth sick cat to the vet. Before we could leave we received another call from him, she had passed away already.

Seeing the suffering of these dogs and cats reminds us how important vaccinations are and we urge every dog owner to have his dog(s) regularly vaccinated. Distemper and other diseases like parvo virus are highly contagious and spread easily.

For your information, the symptoms of Distemper are that the animal becomes lethargic, stops eating, develops diahorrea with blood and then shows signs of a runny nose which quickly turns to a brown mucus. There are other symptoms but advice from a vet should be sought if any of the previous signs are observed in your pet.

A heart-felt “Thank you” to all our supporters who make it possible that we can vaccinate every year approx. 600 dogs and cats to protect them against these terrible diseases.