Weds 17th May: The 2017 HKDR Raffle

I'd agreed to take part in the RTHK Radio programme "Backchat" in the morning, so had to keep an eye on the time while trying to think of a place I could go to do the phone interview without barking dogs in the background.  I decided to give the roof a try, especially as the weather was glorious and it's a lovely place to stand and admire the view anyway, and it worked a treat.  The subject of what I thought would be a discussion was the illegal selling of dogs and puppies online, which had been on the agenda in Legco the previous day:  http://www.legco.gov.hk/yr16-17/english/panels/fseh/fseh_ar/papers/fseh_ar20170516cb2-1373-3-e.pdf
It turned out there were no other participants and I expect I let my mouth run away with me as it usually does when on the subject of breeders, but you can judge for yourself by listening to the Podcast on the RTHK website.

It's interesting that AFCD say they are receiving fewer dogs than ever before and taking this as proof that there are less pets being abandoned, but I and others in the dog rescue "business" disagree.  The fact is that as more and more rescue groups are being set up we are taking the dogs directly rather than them going via AFCD, and this particularly applies to the breeder dogs that are being discarded at quite an alarming, although happy, rate.  I'm told that some breeders are begging rescue volunteers to take their dogs rather than the other way round, and whereas previously almost all of our (smaller) dogs came to us from AFCD, we haven't had any from the New Territories Animal Management Centres for a long time, and only very few from Pokfulam AFCD.

Is this fat shaming? A 37 inch waist isn't healthy

In fact there are dogs waiting to come to us, and on Thursday we will be accepting three poodles and two shih tzus from a breeder who needs to reduce the numbers following the introduction in March of the new Cap139B Animal Trader Licensing requirements.  We had all hoped that this would happen, but I do need to be clear that it's the adult and useless-for-breeding dogs that are being thrown out, not the puppies.  That means that virtually every dog we accept from the breeders needs a lot of money to cover the vet bills for skin and ear problems (guaranteed), often heartworm treatment and surgery for the females, as well as general vaccinations and desexing.  Of the two hugely obese and over-bred chocolate labradors that arrived at Tai Po at the weekend, one tested positive for heartworm and also has mammary tumours, but maybe I should be grateful that the other one was clear.  Both of these ladies are lovely and very sweet, and there must surely be labrador fans who could offer at least a temporary home to one or both?

Happily two of the shih tzus that had also come to us from a breeder were adopted today, making at least a little space for the new arrivals.  Chessie and Casper have been vaccinated, desexed and generally patched up since coming to us so they left to start their new life with a clean bill of health and smiles on their adorable faces.

"We adopted Chessie and Casper last night- just before closing time!  Casper snored happily all through the night-  ha, ha. These sweet dogs are loving exploring their new home. 

Please feel free to put the photo below in Sally's Blog! My children are very regular readers of it! 

"Chessie, Casper, James, Eloise and Emily- all happy siblings! "

I need to thank all of our generous supporters who responded to my cries for help with sponsorship for things like washing machines and dryer, and the much-needed gazebos.  These are items that aren't included in our day-to-day expenses, which are more to do with feeding and taking care of the dogs. Now there's a chance for everyone to support for as little as $20 by buying a raffle ticket as detailed here:

We have started selling our Raffle Tickets 2017! They are $20 each and all the money raised will be supporting HKDR's work of rescuing and re-homing abandoned dogs and puppies. Here are the selling locations:

HK香港:

The Doggeteer
中環半山摩羅廟交加街20號
20 Mosque Junction, Mid levels, Central
Tue–Sun 10:30am – 8:00pm
2973 6133

Whiskers and Paws
鴨脷洲利榮街二號新海怡廣場10樓
10/F, Horizon Plaza, Ap Lei Chau
Mon– Fri10am–6pm
 Sat & Sun 10am–7pm
2552 6200

HKDR Ap Lei Chau Homing Centre
救狗之家鴨脷洲領養中心
鴨脷洲大街21號地下
21 Main Street, Ap Lei Chau
Mon – Sun 10am–6pm
34800061

DOGOTEL
香港跑馬地奕蔭街21號地下
G/F., 21 Yik Yam Street, Happy Valley, Hong Kong
Mon– Sun 10am– 7:30pm
 28365001

Pharmadies德寵
灣仔告士打道128號祥豐大廈22樓
22/F, Neich Tower, 128 Gloucester Road, Wanchai
Mon– Fri9am–6pm
Sat: 9am– 1pm
2754 0383

KLN九龍:

DOGOTEL
九龍旺角梭椏道11號地下A店
G/F 11A Soares Avenue, Mongkok
Mon– Sun 10am– 7:30pm
27110019

新界NT:

HKDR Tai Po Homing Centre
救狗之家大埔領養中心
大埔石蓮路6號
6, Shek Lin Road, Tai Po
Mon- Sun 10am- 6pm

**網上訂購慈善奬券Order Raffle Tickets Online**: http://hongkongdogrescue.com/event/raffle2017/

See Translation