Fri 28th Oct: Murphy the nurse

Murphy the nurse

The puppies that went for their rabies shots and licensing yesterday had another outing today when they were sent for desexing.  I can remember many years ago when this operation involved opening a dog (or cat) up from top to tail and leaving it with countless stitches, but now it’s keyhole surgery and hardly noticeable.  Even the females are up and about by the evening acting as if nothing had happened, so for those who think the operation is cruel and painful are years out of date (and mitaken).  The biggest post-op problem is the ministrations offered by other dogs, in this case Murphy who believes that all puppies are his and he must take care of their wounds.  The puppy in this photo is String, five months old but still quite tiny as you can see.

Sweet Custard with the butterfly nose

Going to pick the doglets up in the afternoon, I also took two sick puppies with me – Rhubarb and Custard (did they plan this just because their names go together?).  It’s the usual thing, a case of kennel cough gone wrong, resulting in Rhubarb having to stay in hospital while Custard was at least well enough to come back home with me.   Kennel cough isn’t usually more than a short-lived inconvenience, but it’s incredibly frustrating because it’s so infectious amongst puppies.  Just like the human common cold, which affects young children much more than adults, the older you get the more resistance you build, which in the case of kennel cough means that the doglets and older dogs are never affected.    Obviously I can’t take puppies that are already coughing to the adoption afternoons, so although Custard is the sweetest and cutest of girls (with her ‘butterfly’ nose), and she’s eating and playing as normal, she’ll have to wait another week.  There will be lots of other puppies at Whiskers’n'Paws on Sunday though (2pm to 5pm as always), and you can also buy your Peak to Fong tickets (T-shirts) there.