Welcome to BARK!

Hi all, and welcome to our blog.

After over one year since BARK was founded, we felt it was time that we created a page to share our experience with the people who support and help us, and with anyone interested in animal welfare, either in Taiwan or elsewhere.

In this page you will find a bit of everything about BARK. Various pictures, videos, rescue stories, updates on some of our rescues, animal welfare related articles and links, and maybe we'll even throw in some good old gossips for good measure...

Soon, we will also send invitations to people who adopted animals through BARK. That way, adopters will be able to write on this blog themselves.

If you have any comments, suggestions or if you need to contact us , please write to: chris@bark-taiwan.org

And don't forget to visit our website! www.bark-taiwan.org

Chris
Co-Founder
BARK

Time for an update...

It is now July 21, 2008, and my last post was more than six months ago. A lot happens in only six months and I don't think I could possibly recall all of it on the spot, but some memories are more vivid that others, for sure.

Helping animals makes for a real roller coaster ride. I guess that's a bit how life goes. Having so many living creatures around, though, is like having a huge family, and there's always something happening. Sometimes it's joyful, other times it's not so joyful.

We have adopted many more animals and we've been treated with many "happy tails" from families who adopted pets in the past. And that's not to mention all the continued support from the community. At the same time, we've also been humbled by all the intensity that makes life what it is and what it means when it's taken away.

In the following posts, we will tell you a bit about the adventures of BARK.

A big thank you to everyone. You know who you all are.













Chris
Co-Founder
BARK

Tim and Tam; Happy Tails!

Last Saturday, I made it to Daliao to visit Tim and Tam. Mandatory post-adoption visit, but in this case, call it paying a visit to my buddies, to my babies..

I was nervous on my way there. I was ready for the worse, but hoping for the best.

Tim and Tam are now outdoor dogs, but they are kept in a HUGE enclosed area with shelter from the rain and the sun. They have all the room they need to run freely, and they get plenty of attention from the family members, and mostly from the young boy who fell in love with them:


I was a bit worried when I first met Tim and Tam again because they seemed a tad hesitant to come to me. That was until I spoke to them and said "Hiya dumdumbs." They ran and jumped all over me and it was really heartwarming. They really seemed happy and well cared for. I can't begin to describe how happy I was to see them is such a suitable setting for them.

The word from the adopters is that they are lovely. They hardly ever bark unless someone comes close to the property fences, and the adopters actually appreciate the warnings from their new companions. It's a win win thing.

Here's a picture of the whole family together:


After nearly two years caring for Tim and Tam, the right home finally adopted them. And boy was it worth the wait.

All the best to Tim and Tam and their new family.

Chris
Co-Founder
BARK

Tim and Tam Found a Home Together!

What a great adoption event we had today!

It's strange, actually. I was putting some dogs in the car and getting ready to bring them to the adoption event. I put Milky, Buddy, Hobo, and Tim in the car, and I was about to leave. We don't bring all of our dogs to the event because it's too intimidating to some people.

As I was on my way out, I stopped to look at Tam paws up on the gate, and she was just begging me to take her. Her tail was wagging so hard that her whole body was shaking. She had this look on her face that said "why can't I come?" It looked a bit like this:

Tam:
So I said "OK, OK, you can come." I picked her up and helped her in the car with the other dogs.

Turns out that a family from Kaohsiung lost their dog to cancer months ago and it looked just like Tam. They wanted to adopt Tam, and when they found out that she was Tim's sister, they actually asked if they could adopt only one of them or if both dogs had to be adopted together. We told them that they could adopt only Tam, but that it would be best if they adopted both of them.

We showed them pictures of when they were little; 17 months ago:

Tim:

Tam:17 months later at an adoption event:


They felt it would be harsh to separate them so they decided to adopt both Tim and Tam.

I can't begin to tell you how sad and happy we were to see them go. The adopters live in Kaohsiung county and they have a huge fenced off backyard. Perfect for these guys since they love to run so much. It was pretty obvious that the adopters are dog lovers. Their young son was stoked, and one could tell that he's been taught to be around dogs. What a great family they are.

Here's a picture of the young boy as they are about to head home with Tim and Tam:
And here's Mom giving Tam some good old lovin:I will miss this face...

And one more picture before saying goodbye...
Good Luck Tim & Tam! I will pay you a visit soon.

Chris
Co-Founder
BARK

Buddy Was Returned

I guess we don't always have good news... We were pretty happy that Buddy had finally found a home, but he was returned to us a couple weeks ago. Certainly not because Buddy is a bad pet. Buddy is awesome. Buddy is scooter trained and house trained, he rarely barks, he doesn't chew things, and he's just a great companion all in all.

The word is that the person who adopted buddy moved to Taipei and could not bring Buddy with her. Buddy was returned to us by her roommates. Oh well. We were still happy to see Buddy, and worse could have happened to him. We found him a home, and we'll find him another one... A better one, one that will be for life...


Better luck next time, Buddy! Hang in there, there's someone waiting to love you out there...

Chris
Co-Founder
BARK

Lulu; Update

Hi all,

Thanks to Dr. Kuo's excellent surgical intervention and follow up, Lulu has healed quickly and with no complications.

Lulu received 26 stitches, and the last of them were removed 14 days later. Her fur is almost grown back now and only a few scars are still visible. Once her fur is fully grown, one will not be able to tell that she was stabbed.

I said that I would post pics of Lulu once she recovered, so here they are:




Chris
Co-Founder
BARK

Lulu Was Stabbed...

I know Lulu. I've seen her almost every time I go to either 7-11 or 50 Pizza (across the street from 7-11) near my place. She's fat and healthy, so I always figured that she is well looked after by someone, somewhere in that neighborhood. Very friendly, and very calm. No, actually, I should say extremely friendly. I usually see her sleeping outside one of the above mentioned businesses.

Tonight, we went to 50 Pizza for a late munch after work, and Lulu showed up... From a certain distance, Natasha said "OMG, she's got spray paint all over." (We rescued a dog covered with spray paint recently, and she thought that Lulu was also spray painted) I knew it wasn't paint... I got up right away and I said "no, that's blood."

Lulu was stabbed at least three times. The wounds had to be inflicted with a sharp pointy object at least 1 1/2 inch wide. Most likely a knife. She also has many smaller cuts which are mostly healed and scabbed over by now. I always carry a collar and a leash in my scooter, so we took her home.

It was too late to take her to our vet, but the bleeding had stopped and she is past the "golden time" for stitches. This means that our vet less then likely would be able to stitch her up. Her wounds will have to heal without stitches to prevent infection. We used iodine on her wounds and she is going to our vet first thing tomorrow.

Have a look, but be warned, it doesn't look good.

Lulu: (Note that the grill you see on the right side is not a cage, it's a gate/fence we use in our dog room. You can see curious dogs on the other side of the gate.)


The wound on the side of her body:


When pooring iodine in this wound on the right side of her tail (I use a syringe):



The iodine was coming out of this wound on the left side of her tail:



This means that something sharp went into her body on the right side and punctured all the way to her left side... Here's a pic that shows both connected wounds:


As mentioned, Lulu also has a series of smaller cuts. Some are on her back where her spine is, and others are between her back legs. Most of them just look like dirty fur on picture as they are mostly healed leaving crusty dirty clumped fur with coagulated blood stains.

The good thing is that Lulu appears to be very healthy, and she has a good layer of fat on her which suggests that she should be able to heal quite well with proper care.

This made me very crusty. I can't believe someone would do that to any dog, never mind such a loving and and affectionate dog like Lulu. It's clear that Lulu's wounds are not caused by a dog fight or a traffic accident. What does that leave for probabilities? .........

I'll post pics of Lulu when she gets better.

Chris
Co-Founder
BARK

Tribute to BARK's Youngest Volunteer

Wendy and her mom came to our adoption event on Boai Rd. months ago for the first time. They live a block away from there. Came time to go home, Wendy wanted to stay to hang out with the animals. Seeing that they live so close, Wendy's mom just told Wendy to make her way home when she got her fill. Well, that hasn't happened yet. Wendy has not missed a single event since then. She comes early, she helps set up and she stays for the whole event.



Wendy basically cares for the animals, she gives them treats and water, she walks the dogs, and she is often seen walking about with a kitty in her arms. In fact, if there's ever a kitty going missing, the first thing we do is look for Wendy... It never fails.

Wendy is a wonderful child, and our youngest volunteer to date. It's a true pleasure to have her around and her help is greatly appreciated.

Keep up the good work, Wendy!

Chris
Co-Founder
BARK

Buddy Found a Home!

Last Saturday, a young couple came to our adoption event and they decided to adopt Buddy.

Although Buddy was never one of my favorite because he can be quite pushy and stubborn, he grew on me over the last year, so I had mixed feelings when he left us. Of course I'm happy that he finally found a home, but I felt sad and worried at the same time. I cared for Buddy for over a year now so he really thought he was my dog, and I think he probably felt like if I let him down. It made me sad. And of course, I was worried for him. I just hope that he will be treated the way he deserves to be treated.

I've been thinking about Buddy all week wondering how he's making out in his new home. So today I called his caretakers and I asked if it was OK for me to pay Buddy a visit in his new home. The caretakers invited me without hesitation.

Buddy seemed really happy to see me, and I was happy to see him, too. He looked great! Turns out he has not had any accidents in his new home, he has not chewed anything, he barks very little and he's just a great companion. They love him!

That really made my day. After all, Buddy is not a young dog, and he's been through a lot. When he found us, he was half-dead on the side of the road sheltering himself under a car. He had seven fractures on his rear legs and hip. Most likely a car accident. It took three months for Buddy to walk again. A year later, Buddy can run and jump like any other dog.

Buddy also had a severe heart worms infection which caused lung edema. He was successfully treated and he is now fully cured. Thanks to our excellent veterinarians.

You win some and you lose some... Buddy's story is definitely a victory against adversity.

Good luck to you, little guy... And many thanks to your adopters.

Chris
Co-Founder
BARK

BARK, The Dudes and You

First, I have a word or two for all of you south-dwelling animal lovers who have rescued animals and who continue to rescue animals independently. It's not until I began being more involved with animal welfare that I realized how many of you rescue strays to keep as pets, or to find them new homes; to give them a second chance. I want to thank you for your kindness, for your time, and for your dedication to making a difference in the lives of the ones we often refer to as "the dudes."

It may not seem to make a significant difference in the big picture, but it does. Needless to say, it is also saving the lucky ones that crossed your path from a life of hardship.

Nevertheless, for a wide array of reasons, not everyone is in a position to adopt or rescue strays. It is quite understandable. Small living space, unwilling roommates/landlords, lack of money, lack of time and allergies are but a few realities some of you are facing when you see an animal in need which you would like to help.

This said it seems that among those of us who care for animal welfare, there are generally two categories of people; those who can help and those who can not help. While I’m happy to acknowledge the efforts of the former, this message is more for the latter; more for those of you who can not help. Keep in mind that even if you are not in a position to help, I still appreciate your concerns regarding the less fortunate of us living beings who have to live on the street.

Although BARK is still a young organization, we already receive a minimum of one phone call every day from people who need help with an animal they rescued or wish to rescue. Often, it’s two or three calls daily. If we agreed to take responsibility for every animal people ask us to take from them, we would be overwhelmed with animals within two weeks.

BARK is not a government funded organization like the SPCA who is active in many countries. We are a group of like-minded people who put forth efforts to help strays, but our resources are limited. All of BARK volunteers work full time jobs, and of course, we depend on charities to pay for various expenses, most of which are veterinarian expenses.

Back in April 2006 when Natasha and I founded BARK, our goal was simply to organize a network of animal lovers so that we could help more animals “in need” together. I must say, we exceeded our expectations ten fold already. Within a year, we have already helped more than 100 animals. It goes without saying that we are thankful for all the help and support we received to achieve that.

More to the point, every animal on the street is “in need.” So which one do we chooe to help? While we would like to help them all, the reality is that we simply can not. While we would like to take responsibility for every animal people call us about, the reality is that we can not take them all under our wings.

In other words, if you call us about animals that are not in a state of emergency, we will not take them from you. You will have to take responsibility for that animal, or face the harsh reality of not helping him/her at all, unless you are willing to work with us to CNR (Catch-Neuter-Return) the animal. Contact us for more details, or read our post titled “BARK, CNR, and You.” Sad, I know… But since when is the stray problem in Taiwan a happy story? The only way to turn a sad story into a positive one in the life of a stray is to take responsibility for him/her, and as mentioned, BARK can not assume responsibility for every stray in Kaohsiung. And that’s the bottom line.

This said, however, there are things we can do to help you help animals. We can provide you with free food (limited to availability), we can help you with discounts at our participating veterinarian, and we can also provide you with a wealth of information and sources to help you train, and re-home an animal. Contact us for more details.

We know it’s not much, but as mentioned, our resources are limited both in terms of manpower and in terms of money, and we hope that you will understand that we do the best we can with what we have.

Keep up the good work Kaohsiung, and thanks for your understanding.

Chris
Co-Founder
BARK

An Important Notice in Reference to BARK the Dudes and You.

To whom it may concern...

Please take the time to read the original message if you have not already.

I'm bringing this back up as a result of the overwhelming amount of
phone calls I receive from foreigners who make their intentions clear
to "put their pets to sleep" if they can not find homes for them
before they have to leave Taiwan.

Firstly, all of us with BARK are animal lovers. That's no secret, and
naturally, we do not appreciate phone calls from people who threaten
to kill their pets if we do not help them; if we do not take
responsibility for their pet upon their departure from Taiwan.

Secondly, we do not believe nor support putting animals to sleep.
Besides, that is just a fancy way to tip toe around the harsh reality
that "putting a pet to sleep" is nothing short of killing your pet.
After all, going to sleep entails that one would later wake up...

This dog will wake up:

Mind you, he's a homeless dog...

Thirdly, we see animals in need daily, and I'm sure most of you
witness the same just about every day, too. This said, if we have the
choice between saving your pet because you are considering killing
him/her, or helping a sick stray, the choice is rather simple, and as
mentioned, sick strays are abundant.

It doesn't really matter if you purchased a pet from a pet store, or
if you rescued your pet. The bottom line is that owning a pet should
be for life.

That being said, we do understand that in some cases, foreigners do
face extenuating circumstances which leaves them little choice but to
leave their four-legged friends behind. However, in most cases it's
just irresponsible pet ownership. We all know that. Few people are
willing to fork out money and go through all the paper work in order
to bring their pets "home" with them.

To conclude, I have some advice for you. Please remember that your
stay in Taiwan will less than likely exceed the lifespan of your pet.
Think before you buy a pet. Are you willing and capable of assuming
responsibility for an animal considering the cost and efforts involved
in taking an animal back to your home country? If not, then maybe you should not buy a pet. Rescue an animal instead and do not consider it your "own" pet. Look at it as if you are just helping an animal in Taiwan and post the animal up for adoption as soon as it is healthy and ready to be re-homed.

It can take over a year to find a home for a fully grown adult mutt.
Although you may not realize it, to wait until a few months prior to
your departure to start looking for a new home for an animal you
rescued can, and most likely will not work out. So if you choose to
help a stray, I say good on you, but do not adopt it unless you are
sure that you will bring that animal home with you. Re-home "your" pet ASAP, and if it works out, then you can always rescue another one if you like to have a pet at home.

In other words, if you own a pet but do not plan to bring it home with
you, then start trying to find it a home at least a year before your
departure and be willing to part with your friend early instead of
ending up thinking about killing it because you love him/her so much
and you would not want to see him/her go back on the street. Do your best to find your pet a home as you would if you had to be on a plane tomorrow.

And remember, you can always foster one of our pets. It’s a great alternative for transient foreigners.

If you need help and information to re-home an animal, do not hesitate to contact us. We can help. We also have heaps of solid information about taking animals to many countries such as Canada, England, Australia, South Africa, and more. It's really not that difficult, by
the way, and it's not THAT costly.

Best regards,

Chris
Co-Founder
BARK