Members of Animal Rescue Team Taiwan managed to catch six seriously ill stray dogs in Taichung City after a marathon effort that lasted more than 18 hours.
The dogs were transported to Kaohsiung City yesterday for emergency treatment.
The operation, which involved transporting the dogs 200km, was launched after the non-profit organization was informed that a pack of stray dogs sheltered by a vagrant living in an abandoned property in Taichung were suffering from severe skin disease, had lost almost all their hair and were covered in bleeding sores.
PHOTO: CNA
In preparation for the rescue operation, volunteers were dispatched one week in advance to inspect the location and wooden planks and cardboard were used to block off all possible exits.
Tranquilizer darts were used to sedate the animals and local residents and volunteers from northern and central Taiwan helped out.
The team eventually captured the animals and delivered them to the Hung-Li Animal Hospital in Kaohsiung for treatment.
Veterinarian Feng Tzung-hung (馮宗宏) said that all six dogs were suffering from a type of mange called demodicosis, scabies and chronic dermatitis and were infested with fleas and ticks.
Two of the dogs suffered from a bacterial infection called canine ehrlichiosis and coagulation disorders, while two others had festering wounds all over their bodies, Feng said.
He said that the animals would require up to two months of treatment to recover fully.
The rescue team, meanwhile, promised that it would help find people to adopt the dogs when they recover.
Since its establishment in 1995, Animal Rescue Team Taiwan has saved thousands of abused and injured stray dogs and helped find homes abroad for more than 100 animals.
The organization, run by retired math teacher Joseph Nee (倪兆成) and his family, rescues strays mainly in southern Taiwan.
Taipei and New Taipei City government officials are aiming to have the first phase of the Wanhua-Jungho-Shulin Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line completed and opened by 2027, following the arrival of the first train set yesterday. The 22km-long Light Green Line would connect four densely populated districts in Taipei and New Taipei City: Wanhua (萬華), Jhonghe (中和), Tucheng (土城) and Shulin (樹林). The first phase of the project would connect Wanhua and Jhonghe districts, with Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and Chukuang (莒光) being the terminal stations. The two municipalities jointly hosted a ceremony for the first train to be used
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday said it is fully aware of the situation following reports that the son of ousted Chinese politician Bo Xilai (薄熙來) has arrived in Taiwan and is to marry a Taiwanese. Local media reported that Bo Guagua (薄瓜瓜), son of the former member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, is to marry the granddaughter of Luodong Poh-Ai Hospital founder Hsu Wen-cheng (許文政). The pair met when studying abroad and arranged to get married this year, with the wedding breakfast to be held at The One holiday resort in Hsinchu
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon this morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan between Friday and Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The storm, which as of 8am was still 1,100km southeast of southern Taiwan, is currently expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, the CWA said. Because of its rapid speed — 28kph as of 8am — a sea warning for the storm could be issued tonight, rather than tomorrow, as previously forecast, the CWA said. In terms of its impact, Usagi is to bring scattered or
An orange gas cloud that leaked from a waste management plant yesterday morning in Taoyuan’s Guanyin District (觀音) was likely caused by acidic waste, authorities said, adding that it posed no immediate harm. The leak occurred at a plant in the district’s Environmental Science and Technology Park at about 7am, the Taoyuan Fire Department said. Firefighters discovered a cloud of unidentified orange gas leaking from a waste tank when they arrived on the site, it said, adding that they put on Level A chemical protection before entering the building. After finding there was no continuous leak, the department worked with the city’s Department
RSS