Fri 2nd March: Living or dying in hope

Dora has a bad heart and a bladder infection

It's been a strangely quiet period recently, with very few new dogs or puppies coming in from AFCD, in fact hardly any at all since the latter months of last year.  This is either because fewer people are handing in their dogs knowing their likely fate, or because there are so many rescue groups now that they are picking up the strays and unwanted pets before AFCD get a chance to.  Other than the occasional few from Pokfulam Animal Management Centre we have only had two from Shatin (puppy Willa and shih tzu Womble) and the couple we picked up today from Sheung Shui, a ten year-old dachshund with various health issues and the inevitable mongrel pup.  Either HKDR are out of favour with AFCD (which isn't unlikely given that I do speak out about things that I think are wrong) and the dogs are going to other groups, or we will be seeing a large drop in intake numbers when AFCD publish their annual report on dogs (and cats) and how many have been killed and how many re-homed.

Today's puppy is a bit older so he was sent to Tai Po

Hercules is clean and ready for his desexing surgery now

This year so far almost all of our dogs and puppies have been directly surrendered by owners or have been rescued from breeders, including the two groups of "meat puppies", those that were destined for the pot over Chinese New Year.   The two most recent additions to the HKDR family were bichon Popcorn and malamute Hercules, both of whom came with heartworm which needs to be treated.  Popcorn had his makeover at the Ap Lei Chau Homing Centre as he is small and very friendly, while Hercules needed to go to Whiskers N Paws for a professional grooming session, which took place today.  I went along with our driver, Ming, to pick him up because I wanted to see how lovely he looked before he went back to Tai Po, and despite his unhappy past he is really the sweetest of dogs, so friendly and with a wonderful character.

Devon

Just before going to pick Hercules up I'd been to Acorn to collect the new puppy and dachshund, and the newish Doberman Devon who'd been for another check-up.  Sitting in the van with the dachshund on my lap and Devon's big head between the two front seats, it was easy to see that the two breeds are closely related as they have exactly the same facial features and lovely floppy ears (unless they're been brutally and unnecessarily cropped).  Both of these senior ladies are such lovely dogs, and I just hope they will find their retirement homes some time soon.

Happy Winston's adoption with the smile that said it all

It's really never too late for a dog to be adopted and to enjoy the love and comfort of a family home,  even if the time is too short.  Big Winston was one Tai Po dog who waited a very long time for his forever home, but finally he was chosen to live out his days with his special armchair and everything he had ever dreamed of.    I just heard the news of Winston's death, and while it's always sad at the same time I'm so happy that he wasn't still waiting at the Homing Centre when it happened.  We have said goodbye to too many Tai Po dogs recently, those who were never given that chance and who spent their entire lives just living in hope.

We still have a lot of old dogs who are longing for a home in their finals months or years, and we know that there are very kind people out there who might be willing to take in a dog like Devon, or any of the others who have waited far too long.  Could that be you?

Dorset is another incredibly sweet Doberman needing a home