Abandoned Puppies
Abandoned Puppies
On Sunday morning (18th September 2022) four abandoned puppies were left at the main gate at Glenmyu Estate.
Our existing pack of seven dogs alerted us to the new arrivals with excited barking and running up and down to the gate.
I was brush cutting at the time, keeping GlenMyu Estate neat and tidy in anticipation of new visitors to enjoy a stay in the hill country.
Eventually I cut the engine on my machine and investigated what the fuss was about.
I had a feeling, as this was a Sunday, that perhaps some puppies had been left on the road
Why Sunday?
Unfortunately since living in the Hill country since 2018 we have found that puppies are dropped off on a Sunday or a Poya (Full Moon) day. I can only surmise that people believe that sympathy and charity will be provided on a “religious” day.
Hoping for 1 or 2 and finding 4!
I was a little taken aback when I discovered four abandoned puppies snuggled up together at our gate! There was only one action to take – call for back up from my wife!
My wife - the Queen of abandoned dogs.
I asked for my wife to come and see the new arrivals and decide what we should do. We are reluctant total on more dogs as we already have seven on the estate.
GlenMyu Estate has five acres for the dogs to roam so realistically we could cater for more.
However, there are several factors why we have decided that seven is a maximum that we should have.
One factor is cost. Feeding seven dogs is expensive and as food prices have risen substantially this is becoming more of an important factor. Dogs in Sri Lanka are mainly ‘rice hounds’ (unless they are a pedigree dog). Their diet is mainly rice with some protein (usually fish or chicken) and some finely chopped vegetables. The cost of rice has more than doubled in the last six months and we buy around 100 kg of rice a month.
Another factor is that dogs are social animals and they need attention. I find it challenging spending enough time with each dog individually during the day and adding more friendly faces would add to this difficulty.
Ticks, fleas and worms
The abandoned puppies were full of fleas, ticks and you could also see from their extended bellies that they had worms. The worms are typically passed through from the mothers milk and needed to be treated as they can be deadly in such small fragile beings.
Our plan with the Abandoned Puppies
Unfortunately we have been through this process on several occasions.
We have lost count of the number of dogs that we have taken in and rehoused since we have been in Beragala.
Ruwanthi cleaned up the puppies, removing ticks and then dusting them with tick and flea powder. The temporary visitors dropped off from the puppies in their numbers.
Some sustainence in form of rice mixed with chicken juice was gobbled up by the hungry four.
A cardboard box with some fabric to provide some warmth would be the puppies temporary home.
Regular meals are needed for puppies at this age so that they get a good healthy start in life.
Worm treatment was a priority so I made a trip to the pharmacy in Beragala to buy some liquid worm treatment for the puppies.
Ruwanthi administered the medicine that evening and we were presented with the results in the morning. Not a pretty sight and to clean however it was a very important task that had to be completed.
Vitamins and minerals
To support that good start in life we provide vitamin liquid to provide the puppies with the best chance of survival and to become strong enough to survive life in the tropics.
A trip to the vet
We will take the puppies to the vet to get them checked out and some advice on what we need to do going forward. There will be vaccinations for rabies, parvo and DHL to come when the puppies are old enough.
Parvo is a contagious virus which mainly affects dogs. It is spread from dog to dog, directly or indirectly through contact with their faces.
Vaccines can prevent infection and mortality can reach 91% in untreated cases.
DHL is active immunisation against a Canine Distemper virus. It is required for puppies beginning at 6-8 weeks old, boosted twice at 3 week intervals and then a year later.
Abandoned Puppies on YouTube and Instagram
I decided that I would record our journey with the 4 new puppies as it would be of interest to dog lovers around the world.
You can see my videos at the following links.
We use some of the surplus income we make at GlenMyu Estate to fund the costs of our wonderful street dogs that are resident at the Estate.
We also use funds to support abandoned puppies like these four paying for their food, medicine, vaccinations and vet bills.
We also have funded a spaying a neutering program locally helping those villagers who cannot afford the money to operate on their dogs to control the street dog population.
To find out more about a stay in the Sri Lanka Hill Country at GlenMyu Estate please visit our website by clicking on the following link below.