Dumaguete Animal Sanctuary

Every Life Matters

Programs and Projects

Announcing our Adopt a Stray Programme

Announcing our Adopt a Stray Programme

Puppy pyramid

Puppy pyramid

With nearly 200 rescues in a small space, we are at a capacity where bringing any more dogs in will jeopardize the wellbeing of the dogs we have.

Sandy

Sandy

Lou

Lou

We always rescue dogs who are in absolutely critical condition, but there are many more we would really love to help but can't. Nevertheless, we always try to find ways, such as our Adopt a Stray Programme.  So long as we have someone who has agreed to adopt and signed a contract assuming ownership, we will treat any stray for free, vaccinate, neuter, deworm and ensure good health if the person who reports will adopt.


It's free for the adopter, but isn't of course free for DAS, so if you can contribute any donation, however small, please help us. 

DONATE

Good luck Doc Milton!

Good Luck Doc Milton!

We have some sad news to announce today - Doc Milton has left DAS, deciding to take his career in a new direction.  We are grateful for the 6 months he spent at DAS and will miss him!  Please join us to wish him good luck as he takes his next steps in his veterinary career.  This is our all time favourite picture of him - carrying around a kitten in his pocket!

Rabies – The Truth

The Truth About Rabies

We are seeing an increasing number of Rabies cases in our rescues - two having been at the Sanctuary for a number of days - Nebula and Scarjo.   There are a number of misconceptions about Rabies so here are some true facts.

True Rabies Facts

  • Dogs are NOT born with Rabies - they only get infected from the saliva of an infected animal
  • Rabies is 100 percent fatal for both humans and animals
  • Dogs are only infectious and therefore dangerous when they are showing clinical signs - as the virus needs to have traveled through the brain to the salivary glands before it can be passed on
  • The only way to protect yourself and your pets is to get vaccinated
  • The Rabies vaccination is one of THE most effective vaccines there is

From time to time we are able to offer FREE rabies vaccinations for dogs and cats at the Sanctuary.  
Please get in touch with us to find out more.

Congratulations to our wonderful Vet Assistants!

Congratulations to our wonderful Vet Assistants!

These three wonderful ladies gained their Veterinary Assistant diplomas today!  Rina, Rudylyn and Rachelle have been working so hard over the last few months studying the theory and practical side of their Veterinary Assistant diploma and have all passed with flying colors.

Rina, Rudylyn and Rachelle

DAS is grateful to have these three on our team. They are the ones who give the medication, check the dogs health daily, bath, walk and socialise the dogs. They work closely with new rescues to gain their trust. They really are amazing.


Thanks so much - we are very proud of you!

The Sanctuary battles Canine Distemper

The Sanctuary Battles Canine Distemper

The Sanctuary is currently battling an outbreak of Canine Distemper, a highly contagious virus that attacks a dog's nervous system. There are a lot of cases in Dumaguete at the moment, and we believe the virus was bought in by one of our recent intakes of rescued puppies that did not show any symptoms. As of mid-May, about 25% of our dogs tested positive for Distemper.

What is Canine Distemper?

Canine Distemper is caused by the Paramyxovirus virus, and affects the digestive, respiratory and nervous systems. Distemper first affects the dog's breathing causing coughing and the tell-tale signs of green eye and nose discharge. 

At this stage, with supportive care, the dog can overcome it. If not, the virus travels into the nervous system causing twitching, seizures and eventual death.  Some dogs can survive this stage also, but are often left with muscle twitches. Even after a dog seems to have recovered from this neurological stage, they can still have seizures and die months later. We had an outbreak in Oct 2019 and unfortunately lost a couple of dogs to the disease.

What is the treatment for Distemper?

Canine Distemper has no cure. Dogs can be vaccinated against it, but not before 12 weeks old, and like any vaccine, it is not 100% effective, especially if the dog's immune system is already weak, as in very young dogs, older dogs, or dogs with co-morbidities. ALL our dogs are vaccinated, except the very youngest puppies and recent adult dog rescues, who have not completed the vaccination course because they are so young or they are very sick. As of 20 May we have 25 dogs that have tested positive, but we unfortunately lost little Dottie and Richie.

As of now, the rest seem to be fighting it successfully with the help of Canglob Antibody treatment (for the highest risk dogs), and Immunol, Lc-Vit, vitamin C tablets and SMP tablets for the rest.

Shaun is currently causing us most concern, as he has progressed to the neurological second stage and has developed a twitch. We hope he is strong enough to recover, even at this stage. The poor little guy has been through so much already - check out his story here.


What are we doing at the Sanctuary?

Distemper is quite a fragile virus that dies within a couple of hours outside the body, but it is highly contagious as it can be carried on our hands and clothes and is also airborne for a limited distance. A further problem with Distemper is that it incubates in a carrying dog for up to a month before symptoms appear, so an infected dog can infect many others before it is diagnosed. 

We remain vigilant for signs appearing in the rest of the population, but are hopeful that they developed antibodies to fight the virus as a result of their vaccinations - we vaccinate a rescue as soon as it is safe to do so.  We are being especially careful with cleaning and disinfecting, and much as we'd like to, not taking in any new rescues or making any adoptions until we are confident the outbreak is over, which we hope will be in a week or so from now. Ultimately, all we can do is care for the cases, isolate the population as best we can, and wait.

What can I do?

Treatment and preventative measures are the biggest drain on our resources. Donations, however small, all add up and really do make a difference. Visit our Donations page to find out how you can help us financially. We are grateful for every peso and cent.