Watermelon’s turn on the surgery table today. This sweet and rather dopey bear has broken and won everyone’s heart from when he first arrived. Although his mobility has improved, it’s pretty certain now that he is blind - but my, it has to be said, he is a truly magnificent boy.
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It’s always a nail-biting time to see one of our new bears laid out on the surgery table. Our vet team busily buzz around preparing for surgery and re-checking on problems picked up on during the previous emergency health-check from when the bears first arrived at the end of March.
Some really good news at last! Three new utterly beautiful bears have arrived at our Vietnam sanctuary thanks to the prompt action of the Vietnamese authorities. This brings to 12 the total number of bears taken in to our new sanctuary.
As promised, a photo of little Pi, who we plucked from the River Pi that runs through our Moon Bear Rescue Centre in Chengdu. Here he is with Eric and the security team that saved him.
As the earthquake outreach goes on I know that many people are wondering about the health of our new bears. Naturally we’ve had to postpone all but the most urgent of surgeries as our vet team really don’t want a sleeping bear on the table as another aftershock hits. (The latest on Monday afternoon literally rocked the chairs during our meeting.)
Wednesday and we’d earlier received seven more calls on the hotline and then found ourselves standing in the middle of another 22 dogs surrendered in Dujiangyiang.
At 2pm on Monday we arrived again at our temporary registration and collection station in Dujiangyiang and found a queue already forming. It was reassuring to know that our hotline was doing its job and this, together with a local TV programme, which went out the night before, was alerting local pet owners that help was at hand for their dogs and cats.
Driving in to Dujiangyiang yesterday morning, we passed so many people leaving their now-destroyed homes. Trucks, trikes and even bicycles loaded up with meagre belongings and heading for places far away, to build anew.
It's Sunday morning and we are just about to head off on our latest trip to Dujiangyiang to help the dogs in the area, but first let me tell you about “Pi” the puppy, the newest member of our family. This little mite was rescued from the River Pi (pronounced Pea) yesterday by our lovely security staff who heard him yelping, then saw him struggling into the reeds by the water.
Good news. Christie has finally secured official authorisation today for us to go into Dujiangyiang, collect dogs and cats that need help and place a notice on the government bulletin boards and surrounding areas alerting the public that we can help with companion animals wherever required.
Jill's Bio
Jill founded Animals Asia in 1998, after an encounter with a caged bear on a farm in China changed her life forever. She now heads a team of over 300 enthusiastic staff and divides her time between our bear rescue centres in China and Vietnam and our Hong Kong head office. She travels extensively to participate in conferences and speak at fundraising events.
Read more here.
