Volunteer Xiaojing (right) handles one of the rescued dogs with care during a health check at the Lee Pet Vet Animal Hospital. LIU ZHE / FOR CHINA DAILY

Wang Renshan has barely had any sleep or food in the last three days. After taking on 23 of the 460 animals rescued by pet-loving netizens last Friday, the president of Lee Pet Vet Animal Hospital has been too busy to take a break.

"I feel exhausted, but there is still so much work to do, such as keeping a check on the animals' temperatures and feeding them medicine," he told METRO on Monday.

Lee Pet Vet, along with the animal rights charity Shangshan Foundation, paid a Henan logistics company 115,000 yuan for the release of the dogs, which were being shipped to hotpot restaurants in Jilin province.

The corridors and treatment rooms at Wang's small clinic near the Bird's Nest stadium are now overcrowded with its new patients. Trained veterinarians and volunteers have been working tirelessly to separate the dogs and treat their injured paws and legs.

Although many of the animals are almost identical, Wang, a vet with 12 years experience, has named each one and recorded their symptoms and the amount of food and water they have eaten.

The file on a mongrel named "Xiao Hei" (Little Black) states that he has injuries to all four paws, and that he is "very gloomy" and does not have much of an appetite. Another for "Da Huang" (Big Yellow) says: "I cough a lot and am very hostile to humans."

Four out of 23 dogs have been placed in isolation with canine distemper, a highly infectious and potentially fatal disease. The rest have either fractured bones, diarrhea or skin irritations.

"These dogs are all physically and mentally traumatized," said Wang. "It will take a long time for them to fully recover."

Volunteers have flocked to the clinic to offer helping hands, with at least 10 residents calling to offer cash donations.

Wang Luosa, a teacher from New Oriental School, said she drove half an hour just to make the dogs her puppy's favorite food: steamed buns with chopped carrots, beef and cabbage.

"Unlike my puppy, the dogs here are afraid of me," she said. "When I reach out my hands to them, I can see panic in their eyes."

China Small Animal Protection Association, which was involved in Friday's rescue, has also received donations and help from more than 300 volunteers, said staff at its base in Haidian district.

China Daily

(China Daily 04/19/2011 page35)