At the end of March, we heard about a litter of 7 pups that were handed into Constanta public shelter by a family, whose bitch had given birth. Constanta is a notorious kill shelter in Romania, many hours drive from our nearest rescuer. They were due to be killed Friday, in line with government policy, and we had two days to save them.
With no rescuer within a 7 hour drive, we asked our international transport partner Zoo Taxi to help us. They started out from Iasi in the East of Romania on Wednesday night, drove through the night and arrived at Constanta Thursday morning – ready for when the public shelter opened.
The pups were scared, but safe on board our van and in the warm. Their next destination Lugoj in West Romania and into the care of Melisa, one of our rescuers.
When the pups arrived, many hours later, Melisa took them straight to the vet clinic. Public shelters are full of disease, and we needed to blood test all the pups. She took them to the clinic in Ortisoara, where our neuter campaign supported by Battersea Dogs and Cats Home is running.
We received the bad news that all 7 pups had canine coronavirus and they were immediately all put into treatment for two weeks.
They were very sick.
Finally, they had the all clear and went home after their first vaccinations. Only their suffering did not end there. After a few days, Melisa noticed the deadly symptoms of parvovirus. Yet again, 2 pups who were sick had to fight for their lives, and sadly they did not survive.
Our 5 surviving dwarves are now fully vaccinated and growing strong. We cannot wait to find them the best homes – and until then, they are happy playing with Melisa, as they grow and learn that their lives have changed forever. Our miracles.
