Thurs 16th Aug: Poodle out, poodle in

Yoko was one of the poodles used for grooming practise and exhibitions

This weekend should be a busy one at Ap Lei Chau with so many new dogs, although the rain doesn't help the dogs at Tai Po unfortunately, and I'm always aware that the focus of my blog tends to be more on the small dogs because they come and go far more quickly than the larger ones (young golden retrievers excepted).  It's understandable given the average size of a Hong Kong home that most people don't have the space for a big dog, but in many cases there's really not that much difference in the exercise needs of a small and active dog and a large, laid-back one.  Not all of my Lamma dogs are keen hikers, and although the option is open to all a lot of them just like to have a short morning outing then hang out in the garden or inside with the air conditioning.  Of course that changes in the winter months when the weather is cooler.

The new poodle boy from AFCD

The first of the six ex-groomer poodles was adopted today, and as expected the new Yorkie girl was also chosen.  Their places were quickly filled by the incoming chocolate poodle boy and Japanese spitz girl, both relatively young at five years.

This Japanese spitz girl is very sweet

There were also two new puppies from AFCD Sheung Shui, but once again they have tick fever so won't be available for adoption until they have been treated.  Tick fever is a real problem, not only because it delays the re-homing of infected puppies but also because any dogs that have had babesia or erlichia as a puppy or adult can't go to places like Australia and New Zealand.  If you are going to be moving (back) to countries that have restrictions like this it's always a good idea to check that the puppy or dog you're thinking of adopting hasn't ever had tick fever, if that's even known, and if yes then perhaps choose another.

Breakfast for tiny Moomin

While I was at Acorn I had a look at the baby pomeranian boy, now called Moomin, because he'd gone straight to the clinic when he came to us and nobody other than the vet staff had seen him.  I hadn't realised how tiny he was, just a baby and probably not even three months yet, so it seems quite bizarre that he had had any kind of surgery.  Someone, a vet nurse, had commented that sometimes early correction is necessary in extreme cases of patella luxation, and while that's true whatever happened to this puppy was a very amateurish job and still carried out far too soon.  Still, that's history now as the leg has been removed and there have been a lot of nice offers of a home for the pup, so choosing the best one is not going to be easy.