The column for anyone fed up with bureaucracy, frustrated with delays or furious with poor service. Tell us your complaint and we'll try to fix it ... Alex Lok, of Prince Edward, bought a 2-month-old puppy from Puppy Lounge in Mongkok in early April, but the pup died by the end of the month from canine distemper. He suspected he was sold a sick puppy that had not been properly cared for and complained to the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department. 'He received his first vaccination just as I purchased him,' he wrote. 'He was well and active until two weeks later, when he came down with parvovirus and my wife and I took him immediately to our vet where he stayed for three days and got better with antibiotics and care from the vets. He came back home on the road to recovery. 'However, things got suddenly worse. On April 30, our puppy's tongue was abnormally white and he was gasping for breath. We immediately took him back to our vets in the morning but regrettably, he died on the night of April 30.' He said his vet came to the conclusion that he died from canine distemper as he exhibited the symptoms. 'We have now come to know that some Hong Kong pet shops sell puppies and dogs that have not been vaccinated and/or properly weaned off their mother's milk which would have greatly increased their chances of survival by picking up the antibodies at a young age.' The AFCD said its inspectors carried out a surprise inspection at the pet shop and issued a warning after two dogs were found not to have vaccination certificates as required. 'The inspection revealed that two dogs were not accompanied with vaccination certificates,' a department spokesman said. 'Yet all dogs in the shop appeared healthy. A written warning was given to the licensee for breaching the condition attached to the animal trader licence. The licensee will be prosecuted if a similar offence is committed again.' Puppy Lounge said it was unfair of Mr Lok to take his case to the media and AFCD without first approaching the shop. 'Mr Lok's puppy was vaccinated and checked by a vet before it was sold to him. Still, some puppies are weak and may die. It would certainly have helped if Mr Lok had come to us first. We would have tried to nurse the puppy back to health, but Mr Lok never even called us on the phone.' A Cloudview Mansion resident in Fo Tan says he has not had a good night's sleep in recent months as planes fly directly above his home in increasing frequency, late into the night and early before dawn. 'When there are no planes overhead, you can hear the birds sing. But round the clock, plane after plane flies over, even after 1am and before 5.30am,' he said. He has complained to different officials and departments, but was told there was nothing to be done about it. A Civil Aviation Department spokesman has confirmed that the average number of hourly flights of both passenger and cargo planes has increased since Hong Kong recovered from the Sars outbreak. 'For operational and cost reasons, cargo operators prefer handling arrival and departure cargo planes late at night, particularly for routes between Hong Kong and Europe,' he said. While planes have been advised to avoid the flight path over densely populated Sha Tin and Fo Tan late at night and early in the morning, weather conditions and wind directions often make taking that path necessary. 'Basically, the airport operates 24 hours a day,' he said. Reader Nikos Mamoulis recently moved to Discovery Bay where i-Cable does not provide internet broadband coverage. Yet, he said the company refused to terminate his broadband service contract and continued with its monthly charge. 'I had to move to Discovery Bay and there was nothing I could do to terminate the contract, unless I paid a penalty amount that exceeded the remaining three-month subscription fee,' he wrote. 'I felt upset because it is not my fault that they don't cover Discovery Bay. Eventually, they called and terminated my contract, but I did not save any money - I had to pay all three months I did not use their service. 'The funny thing is that in order to terminate the subscription, you have to call them (and wait for hours to get a line), then you have to find someone who speaks English (again more hours), then to find (somewhere hidden in the web) a form that you have to sign and fax, then wait for their confirmation, and finally deliver their modem back to some modem collection centre they have somewhere in Central. In general, their customer service is unacceptable, especially for foreigners. Following a Take Action inquiry, i-Cable said it has settled with Mr Mamoulis. 'We've since spoken to the writer,' a company spokesman said. 'He has accepted our termination arrangement after detailed explanation of his service plan.'
