blue cross conducts a trap-neuter-release program for adult dogs and cats, and holds the puppies and kittens it finds for adoption. in my two visits there, i could see that the place is stretched to capacity: as a no-kill shelter, it has to hold the animals even if they are sick and treat them as best as they can. thus, while i was able to while away the hours socializing the puppies for adoption (a.k.a. playing with them), i had to avoid the mangy ones that simply weren't thriving, and the staff didn't seem able to fully segregate the sick ones from the healthy ones. i also found myself doing triage, identifying wounded puppies and bringing them to the veterinary staff for treatment. in one of the pictures below, for instance, you'll see a puppy lying on its side and covered with flies: the insects were congregating around a few-days-old wound, and from time to time the puppy would cry out and convulse. i finally brought him in where the staff cleaned his wounds (and cleaned out his ears after i pointed out that they were full of black spores) and gave him a shot. they then put him in a segregated cage. the puppy was definitely more alert afterward, and i'm going to check on him when i go back on saturday.
 |  more puppies. |  one of the amputee dogs on the grounds. |
 one of the operating rooms. |  street dogs recuperating post-sterilization. |  owned dogs recuperating post-sterilization. this is better, but i'm not sure by how much. |
 one of the two puppies i took to the vet from the puppy yard. |  the same guy after treatment. |  one of the puppies that adopted me while i was visiting. |
 they treat cows too. |  a puppy in need of treatment. |  another puppy who exemplifies the challenge of the "no-kill" policy. he was a very good model, in part because he can't walk - his two back legs are paralyzed. he was glad for the attention he got, but who is going to adopt this one? who is going to keep him clean? |
