I am a little sad today. I went to check on the momma and pups after picking up my daughter from school. I saw them on the way to her school, but they seem to have vanished by the time I came back 15 minutes later. A really nice neighbour has been helping me to locate the owner, explain about sterilization and keeping her and the pups indoors. I have even offered to take all 3 of them in, have them sterilized and vaccinated and can help find good, responsible homes for the pups. The sad part… we went to the apartment in the front that has a big fenced in area.
The people there have 3 dogs, including one of the pups from the momma dog. Well, her male who I photographed a month ago WITH the momma dog (who she claims she NEVER lets run the street) has TVT. He is dripping blood so badly now, they have a shirt on him to try and contain it. I confronted the woman when she said she never lets him out, and showed her the photos. I told her he contracted the cancer because he is not fixed and because she let him run in the street. But now we KNOW, momma dog will have it too as they know, he was the one mating with her.
TVT is a contagious cancer that is curable, but really expensive for the locals. When I found out today, he is the father of the pups, my heart broke. Momma dog will grow tumors soon enough, she will spread it to other males as she comes into heat and the other dogs and pups living in this small apartment, can all get it too. This is why spay and neuter is SO important.
I am going to try and convince the owner to let me take her as soon as possible for her spay, and we will try to raise the funds to have her chemo treatment done at another vet clinic. The cost, I do not know at this point. The owner of the male dog, well she has plans to take her male dog to the pererra (the local dog pound) to put him to sleep because they cannot afford the treatment.
TVT IS curable. But without affordable access, they can not help their animals. This is why we desperately need the mobile vet clinic. We will be able to deliver these services at cost! This will save countless lives, avoid unwanted puppies from being born, educate families about proper animal care and greatly increase the quality of life for everyone!
