March monthly update

March has been a good and bad month. Spring has finally arrived which means we have some great days of sunshine, but it also means we have quite a bit of rain, too. We’ve had a lot of rescues and adoptions. However, not all of the rescues have been successful and we’ve had to say goodbye to a few angels. We have some great projects in the pipeline. One of which is our TNR program working alongside the government and also other organizations to bring down the population of both stray cats and dogs. Another is our major spring cleaning happening in April. We hope to get many volunteers involved in sprucing up the centre and making everything not only much cleaner but also organize so that everything will be much easier to maintain.


Rescues
We received a call about two abandoned red poodles in the city. When we arrived we found two very thin and extremely matted red poodles, one male and one female. We named them Romeo and Juliet. They were taken to the grooming parlor first for some pampering and then on to the vet for a health check and spaying and neutering. Both were healthy and found new homes very quickly.

While coming back from walking her own dogs, one of our Board members saw a very scruffy looking small white dog, well at least she thought it was a dog. She decided to take it in as it looked very uncomfortable. After one and a half hours of shaving, a white poodle (or Bichon Frise) appeared. He was relieved to have finally gotten rid of the worst matting we’ve ever seen. We named him Henry. He was taken for a proper grooming the following day and then on to the vets for a check up. He had very bad teeth and it was found that his vocal cords had been cut. He is a lively and healthy boy and was soon snapped up for a tryout out. We have our fingers crossed for him.

A 3 month old puppy was rescued from a bad hit and run where her brother was fatally injured. Bisty survived but not without injuries. She had a broken pelvis and fractures in both legs. However, Bitsy is a fighter. She has recovered fully and is now in foster care. She loves being around people and other dogs and is now enjoying daily walks with her foster brothers and sisters. She still has a slight limp, but it doesn’t stop her running around and enjoying life with the other furries. She’s looking for that loving forever home she deserves.

Life, a female Border Collie, was abandoned in the middle of a busy road. She didn’t get along with her first foster family and it was known that she would probably suit a one dog house hold who knew how to train her. She came to Animals Taiwan and was quickly adopted into a loving home where she is getting the training and the exercise a dog like this needs.

Murphy, a one month old mixed pup wandered into a restaurant where a supporter of AT was having dinner on St Patricks night. The supporter decided he couldn’t just let this wee little thing be shooed out of the restaurant and decided to take him home and foster him. He didn’t stay long at his foster home and was quickly adopted into a happy home.

One of our volunteers noticed a ginger cat outside her school who seemed to be very underweight and not looking his best. She decided to try and catch him. After a few days of coaxing, he eventually went into a cat carrier and was taken to the vets for treatment. He was found to be extremely dehydrated and malnourished. However, he has on other problems, except for some very decaying teeth. The vet seems to think he is an older cat and was having trouble getting food. He is now in foster care and slowly putting on weight. He’s on medication and will return to the vets for another check up after 10 days.

Another cat rescue was a joint effort with neighbours and the fire department. We got a call about a distressed cat on a roof top. It was too dangerous for us to get out there, so we lowered a cat trap down and waited. The cat was well behaved and went straight into the trap, then with the fire department’s help the trap was lifted to safety. This little fella was not only lucky to be rescued but was adopted straight away by a neighbour.

A new born black kitten was found dumped in a parking lot. We took him in and did all we could for him, but unfortunately he was too young and too weak and after 2 days left us for the heavens.

While out gathering info for our TNR in Keelong, our volunteer found two little kittens dumped near our feeding station. Our volunteer took the kittens to the vet as quickly as possible. However, they were also just too young and too weak to survive and joined the black kitten upstairs.

Our final sad story of the month was little Keeta. He was resced from the side of the road and he was so weak and thin that all of his bones were protruding under his skin. He was taken to the vets and found to have feline respiratory disease. He was undergoing treatment, but he was too far gone to fight and passed away. We know he is happier now he is out of pain.

CNR/TNR
This month we finished of the females in the Hsin Tien pack. The last two adult females of the pack were spayed. There are a few pups there from previous litters and once the feeder has their confidence we’ll be going back to capture them and also try to get the males.

Also two female dogs were caught and spayed from another CNR location. As the weather currently is still not stable, we are first gathering info of feeders, amount of animals and times of feeding for the other areas of our CNR/TNR projects. Once all info is in we can start with diligence.

Adoptions
It’s been a good month for adoptions. Starting with the dogs :
Romeo and Juliet went on tryouts soon after arriving at the centre. We hope all goes well for them both.

Life went to a fantastic home soon after arriving at the centre and gets all the love and attention she needs.

Diana finally found her forever home. Although her foster family was sad to see her loving face go, they knew it was for the best. Her new loving family gives her so much love she doesn’t know what to do with it and she’s enjoying getting out and about on the scooter.

Nicky after a few misses finally hit the jackpot. He’s gone to a fantastic family where he is truly loved.

Both Cappuccino and Olay two white puppies from the same pack were adopted out successfully to different homes. We know they are going to grow to be beautiful and well behaved ladies.

We had a few hit and misses with the HsinTien puppies but finally all of them were adopted and are now getting all the love and attention they deserve.

Henry has gone on a tryout and things are looking great for him, we have our fingers crossed for him.

Doodle has also recently gone on a tryout and we hope her new mommy will keep her forever.

Now on to the cats,Ginger was adopted by his foster mommy. She couldn’t bare to see him leave.

And our rescue cat from a roof was adopted straight away by a neighbour.

Bella the cat was also adopted by her foster family. She has become one of the family and they never want to part with her.

More news
Mei Mei a previously rescued cat will be coming to our centre for adoption as will another cat from our Dr Lin’s clinic. Mei Mei is healthy and ready for adoption. However, Eggmond has very bad injuries to his back half, including his legs and tail. These injuries are of an unknown origin. He will be staying at our centre for round the clock care and rehabilitation. He is super friendly and we know once his wounds have healed he’ll be adopted quickly because of his super loving personality.

Danica is still in need of a new foster home so she can receive her surgery and get the one on one care she’ll need. She’s had a very difficult life up to now but she has always been brave and loving throughout.

Gigi went on a tryout but was returned because his new furry brother didn’t like her too much. However, the good news is she’ll be going on a new tryout out in April.

Koala has returned to the centre, her foster home couldn’t keep her as the father of the house wasn’t comfortable around dogs.

Rosy, now Daisy is looking for a new home. Her foster family has to return to the states soon and can’t take her. She’s a lovely gentle dog and we’ll be doing everything we can to place her in a loving home where she’ll feel safe.

How you can help!
All the time we get asked, “How can I help?”
Well, of course there are the obvious ways, donating, volunteering, (walking dogs, helping at events, cleaning the centre, translating) and fostering.
But what about in other ways? We understand that not everyone has the financial means to donate, or the time to commit. However, there are other ways. Here are a few things that we really need help with right now.


Donations of cat/dog cages and carriers
We have begun to embark on a major CNR/TNR project in and around Taipei. This means that we will be in desperate need of cages and carriers for the catching and the recuperation of the animals that we are CNR/TNRing. If you have or have friends that have cages or carriers of various sizes and can still be used, please contact our centre on 02-28338820 or email lusant@animalstaiwan.org


Web banners
We have had offers from various websites and web-communities who are willing to let us have banners on their websites for free. We need knowledgeable people who can design these and keep them up dated through out the year at various intervals. Please contact liza@animalstaiwan.org if you can help with this.

Article writing
We also need articles in either English or Chinese about various animal subjects. They could range from training, to health care, to adoptions, to stories. We would give you the titles or subject and ask you to go ahead and write an article about it to be published on our website, our facebook fan page and in our newsletters. We may also use them in press releases to magazines or pamphlets. Please contact liza@animalstaiwan.org if you can help with this.

Facebook Sharing
This seems something very trivial and unimportant. However, Facebook is now a major means for getting noticed. Our animals need as much exposure as possible to increase their chances of adoption. The more people who share the albums and stories the more they get noticed and the chances of adoption increases ten fold. Please join our facebook fan page (Animals Taiwan Association) and share our stories and adoption albums with your family and friends.


Not only are we now on facebook
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Animals-Taiwan Association/100845399247But we are also on twitter www.twitter.com/animalstaiwan
So now it’s even easier to keep upto date with what’s happening with AT.

(facebook) : http://www.facebook.com/pages/Animals-Taiwan Association/100845399247

Twitter : www.twitter.com/animalstaiwan

As always with all our rescues we never put a dog or cat to sleep unless the animal is suffering greatly with not much chance of recovery. We will always do our best to make sure every animal is given the best treatment and best opportunity to live a happy and loving life.

We are able to continue these rescues and adoptions thanks to your generosity.

If you would like to be kept up to date with stories and photos on our progress you can now check out our blog ; http://animalstaiwan.blogspot.com/
http://www.wretch.cc/blog/animalstw

Please continue check out our webpage and pass it on to any friends or family members. There are always some wonderful dogs up for adoption, so if you have any friends or family interested in adopting, please show them our website. www.animalstaiwan.org

Remember Adopting saves lives! Please educate those around you to get their animal de-sexed and micro chipped to help decrease the stray population.

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Rescue Center: 02-2833-8820
Website: www.animalstaiwan.org
Blog: http://animalstaiwan.blogspot.com/
Facebook: Animals Taiwan Association