The Pet's Show: 2010

Monday, December 20, 2010

Pet News! Dog in Germany gives birth to 17 puppies

Dog in Germany gives birth to 17 puppies

(AP) – 10 hours ago

BERLIN (AP) — A dog in Germany has given birth to 17 puppies, leaving their owner thrilled but fatigued after having to feed them with a bottle for several weeks because their mother couldn't cope with the demand.

Owner Ramona Wegemann said Monday she barely slept for more than a couple of minutes without interruption during about four weeks in an "exhausting" struggle to make sure all of the purebred Rhodesian Ridgeback puppies would survive.

She said when she was "finished feeding the last puppy, the first was hungry again."

Wegemann's dog Etana gave birth to eight female and nine male puppies on Sept. 28 in Ebereschenhof, which is near Berlin.

At least five times a day, Wegemann gave the dogs a bottle with special milk because their mother's nipples could have never coped with the demand, and when the puppies were not hungry, they wanted to be entertained, she said.

Wegemann said when dogs give birth to so many puppies several of them die within the first week. "But all of our puppies survived. This is incredible and wonderful," the 32-year-old added.

It was the second time that Etana gave birth. She gave birth to eight puppies in her first pregnancy, not uncommon for the dog's breed, Wegemann said.

"The birth of the puppies was very special. All puppies were born naturally, no cesarean was necessary," she added. It took Etana a full 26 hours to give birth to all of the puppies — and Wegemann was as baffled as amazed.

But caring for 17 puppies turned out to be a full-time job: Wegemann put her work as an independent animal psychiatrist on a hold and her husband took as much vacation as he could.

Their lives have been turned upside down by the puppies, and their living room is now occupied by a giant box that houses the puppies.

But even Wegemann still struggles to recognize them: The females puppies are called Bahati, Binta, Bahya, Bashima, Batouuli, Binki, Bora, Bisa and the male ones are Baakir, Banjoku, Belay, Bruk, Bundu, Bayo, Bukekayo, Biton and Bulus.

Wegemann gave them all African names because the Rhodesian Ridgeback is an African hunting dog. Wegeman and her husband now plan to give most of the puppies away.

A price of ?800 ($1,050) per puppy would only cover the expenses for the veterinary, vaccinations, food and the mandatory paperwork, Wegemann said. She hopes to get about ?1,000 ($1,315) per dog, but said they would only give them to families with children, not breeders.

Four of the puppies have been sold, two more are already paid for and will leave their siblings shortly.

Monday, September 13, 2010

Wapi Aware (Groomer Cut Tongue)

I found this in my facebook.

How could this sad and stupid mistake happen to a very sweet dog??

Groomer's in Singapore should have a liscence???

My name is WAPI! I was a happy three-year old Yorkshire Terrier, until my tongue was cut off by my groomers. On 28th Aug 2010.

I will have to live my future life, mutilated and mentally scarred.

My owners are emotionally distressed by my injury and have been running around trying to get my veterinary report (took one whole week), rushing home after work and waking up early to give me medication and trying to appeal to authorities to do something (pending investigation)!

The purpose of this page is to:

1) Publicise the gross negligence of a pet groomer which resulted in our dog's tongue being cut off while grooming and how consequently, my owners were only offered and compensated for the resulting medical costs ($66+ $51 = $117). This could happen to your dog too!

2) Generate enough public awareness, so that the proper authorities will step in and set up protocol and jurisdiction in the event of such atrocities. Can you imagine if a barber or hairdresser disfigured his client this seriously while shaving or cutting their hair? Would a mere apology and a trip to the doctor suffice?

3) Start a discussion and compile a checklist for dog lovers to take note of when sending their pets to groomers. To find out what can and should be done IF such a tragedy were to befall our beloved fur-kids. Also, which dog grooming companies to stay away from. Be informed!

4) Your constructive views and comments are welcome.
Favorite Quotations If you are a pet owner or pet lover, please support this page. Wapi's tongue was cut off by his groomer and there is nothing much that can be done after this incident!

CASE - " The best outcome you can hope for is contract compensation."

SPCA - " Unfortunately,there is no jurisdiction in Singapore on groomers causing grievous hurt to pets. We can only refer you to AVA".

AVA - Pending response from them

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Animal lovers cry foul over beating

SINGAPORE - A video of a woman beating her dog with a bunch of sticks has made animal-lovers in Singapore see red and many have rallied on forums, YouTube and Facebook, calling for the dog to be rescued and its owner punished.

Yesterday, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals told MediaCorp that its male owner had contacted the animal welfare group.

The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) also said it will launch an investigation and will not hesitate to take action against the owners if there is sufficient evidence of cruelty. If convicted of animal cruelty, the offender can be fined $10,000 and/or imprisoned for 12 months.

In an apparent attempt to discipline the beige-coloured canine for biting cushions, the woman in the video rains sharp blows to the head of the dog, which yelps and cowers in a corner.

A man is heard telling her to stop but she continues for another 11 seconds.

But some animal lovers told MediaCorp that the cruelty pales in comparison with the abuse inflicted at puppy mills and that the woman in the video was ignorant.

"Rather than vilify her, we should reach out and let her and the dog attend obedience-training sessions," said Mr Daryl Ng, an accountant.

Dog trainer and president of welfare group Action for Singapore Dogs, Mr Ricky Yeo, told MediaCorp that dogs develop certain habits from their formative years.

"Puppies chew because their gums are painful and itchy when teething. If they are not taught what not to chew, then they carry it into adulthood," said Mr Yeo. The solution is to catch the dog in the act and startle it with a stern "no", or isolate the dog in a darkened room until it calms down.

The next step is to focus the dog's chewing tendencies on "allowable objects" like chew toys, Mr Yeo added.

Dog trainer Harry Quek said changing its diet would help as a dog chews or bites out of boredom or nutritional deficiency.

Both AVA and SPCA said reports of animal abuse are on the rise due to greater public awareness. SPCA received 864 reports last year, a 13-per-cent increase compared to 2008, while AVA received 383 reports last year - six more than in 2008.

Last year, the AVA took action on four cases of animal cruelty and four more this year. Just last month, the AVA fined a rabbit owner $150 for keeping it "poorly".

In March, AVA's deputy director of risk communication Wong Hon Mun told MediaCorp it was difficult to prosecute animal abusers as those who report the cases do not provide enough evidence.