Thurs 29th June: Introducing the newcomers

Today's later arrival, 7 year schnauzer boy 

The first group of new small dogs arrived from AFCD Sheung Shui today, as well as an ex-breeder schnauzer who turned up later in the afternoon.

Little Sandy has a big following

I started the day by taking some puppies over from Lamma to meet potential foster/adopters, one of which was five month-old Sandy, who has already attracted a large number of fans through her charm and intelligence.  She's a smaller-sized girl but full of energy and enthusiasm, and the update from her new home after just one night made me smile.  There was no warming up or getting-to-know-you required between Sandy and her potential dog "sister", and the games started almost from the minute the two met.

Sandy's lookalike brother, Ginger, is doing well in his new home too, so now there's just slightly-bigger brother Edward left to home.  I hope he will be chosen very soon, as he shares the same endearing character.

Now there are 2 of these pups left, a girl and a boy

Edward

The other pups were two of the black lab-alikes, Nero and Mole, and it was Mole who was chosen. For now, at least until Sunday when he will go to Whiskers N Paws, Nero will be staying at the Ap Lei Chau Homing Centre in case there are any other potential adopters interested in meeting him before the Puppy Afternoon.

The 2 poms have their issues but are incredibly sweet

Back to the new arrivals, as I mentioned before they are not puppies, and nor are the others that will be coming on Sunday from a breeder.  The youngest is the Yorkie and I have already had many enquiries about him so anticipate a very short stay at the Homing Centre.  The two tiny poms, who I'm pretty sure came from the same home as the Yorkie, are very sweet but already heading towards their senior years, and one of them needs surgery on both knees before they completely give way.  The second pom has no bottom jaw, presumably as a result of rotten teeth that were left for so long that the entire jaw bone just crumbled away.  We see this a lot in small dogs whose teeth start to go bad at a very young age, and the infection not only results in broken jaws but the bacteria that is swallowed affects the overall health, even causing heart problems.  Small dogs in particular really need good dental care from the moment their adult teeth come through, and even the Yorkie who isn't yet two years old is already showing signs of tooth decay.

Still only the AFCD photos available

Today's bichon frise is also a senior, and only the poodle - now called Wizard - is still a youngster at four years (and he is really very friendly too).  We don't have photos yet so I can only share those sent to us from AFCD for today.

We also took in a young Doberman girl, as yet unnamed, and I was happy to see that her ears have been left as nature intended even if her tails has been cut.  Cropping of ears and docking of tails has been banned in a lot of countries and I would very much like to see the same laws introduced in Hong Kong.  It's lovely to see poodles and spaniels with full-length waggy tails, and breeds like Dobermans with soft and floppy ears.  The newly-arrived schnauzer has sadly been mutilated at both ends, which is very sad to see.

As a reminder about the upcoming outdoor Pure Yoga event, there is a donations page for those who would like to contribute to HKDR and the work that we do https://www.simplygiving.com/event/yogaforall-yoga-for-dog-lovers

Big thanks to Pure Yoga for this and all the support they have given to HKDR in the past and, we hope, the future too. I hope you and your dogs have fun at the Yoga For All event!