Mon 30th May: A true Mira"cle"

Today's amazing news was that Mira had been found

As usual there's a mixed bag of news, some good some not, so starting with the happy stuff came the incredible announcement that lost schnauzer Mira had been found alive and well (considering that she had been out on her own for so long).  I don't know how she managed to survive the heat and must assume she'd found a water source.  I had thought she had been picked up by someone to have disappeared so quickly and completely, but by a stroke of sheer luck she was discovered by some hikers.  As her owner Wendy said, her name should be changed to Mira"cle".

The second piece of happy news is the confirmed adoption of Tai Po dog Polo, who has been staying with long-term volunteer Susan for some months now.  What is especially lovely about this is that Polo was considered a bit of a problem dog, having been adopted once and returned.  When he first came to us I can remember him well as being very affectionate, in fact overly so as he kept jumping on me (this was the time when I was at Tai Po a lot).  Something about him changed after he came back from his first short-lasting home, and he seemed to be angry with life.  Luckily Susan saw through that self-protective behaviour and asked if she could give him a try with her other dogs (and husband), and Polo turned back into the loving and easy boy he was always meant to be.

These 2 babies are fine and now in foster

The really sad piece of news came with the death of one of the gorgeous new baby pups after a bad reaction to the tick fever drug Berenil, and now that this has happened three times I won't be using the treatment on very young pups any more.  It's strange that for years there had never been a problem with Berenil, and although I knew there was a risk I'd never seen it.  One injection was all that was needed and it was an easy solution to the tick fever problem in puppies, but it's a risk I'm not prepared to take any more even though two more of the litter have tick fever.

Bali is one of the early HKDR dogs who has always lived with  me

At the end of the day when I was just starting to think about what I was going to have to eat, I noticed that Bali wasn't in his usual spot.  The dogs allocate themselves their particular spaces and stick to them, so I know who sleeps where and Bali's crate was empty.  I called and searched, although I knew he would never be anywhere else, until it was absolutely clear that he wasn't in the house or garden.  There was nothing for it but to go out looking for him as I was really worried by that time.  Bali is suffering from a degenerative neurological problem in his back legs which means he is losing strength and coordination in his hind quarters.  Nevertheless, like all of my dogs who have walked with me for years he is quite determined to join the morning hiking group, although it's a struggle at times.  Now I was afraid he had fallen into one of the storm drains and been unable to get out, or had deliberately taken himself off somewhere.  Luckily, as it was starting to get very dark by then, he wasn't too far from home and was lying down in the shade as if expecting to be rescued.  Now, along with Cindy and Murphy, I will have to take extra care to check that they are with me every step of the way on our walks, especially in this very hot weather.

There's a big discount for earlybirds and groups

Now that it's almost June it's time to start planning for the month, and thinking about summer events like our dog-friendly barbeque which, in line with our love for all animals, will include vegetarian sausages and burgers.   There's a heavy price discount for groups and an extra earlybird discount for reservations by 5th June, so come along with friends (and your dogs) to enjoy the fun.  Please email andrea.chung@hongkongdogrescue.com for details.