Fri 9th Nov: Nose blindness

Sophie left Hong Kong for Holland today

As ex-Ap Lei Chau and then Tai Po dog Babette was featured in a media story, her sister Sophie was on her way to the airport to start a new life in Amsterdam.  Sophie and Babette had also spent a large part of their puppy months staying at Whiskers N Paws, where Sophie was the outgoing and social sister and Babette the shy one.  It was when Sophie was adopted that Babette also moved, ending up as one of the many at our very large Tai Po Homing Centre, and once again it was Typhoon Manghut that proved to be lucky for her.  I love these stories because they give hope to every dog no matter what their looks or character are. Here is the link to Babette's video story:  https://tv.on.cc/index.html?page=keyword&vid=OSU181020-6571-202-M&createtime=1541666994

Babette's adoption came much later, so it was even more special

I hope some of our growing collection of very large dogs can have the same luck, as we now have five German shepherds and four rottweilers, with the Tibetan mastiff pair coming on Sunday and potentially two Dobermans next week.  Luckily so far all of these dogs have proved to be very even-tempered and friendly, but we do need to start moving them in homes.

Babies are in need of foster homes (in pairs)

We've also got lots of puppies ready for Sunday at Whiskers N Paws, and you can also pick up your Peak to Fong T-shirt/tickets at the same time.

🎈HKDR Puppy Adoption Day - Every Sunday 2-5pm 幼犬領養日 - 逢星期日2-5PM🎈

Address: Whiskers N Paws, 10/F Horizon Plaza, Ap Lei Chau
地址：鴨脷洲新海怡廣場10樓Whiskers N Paws

(8 min walk from South Horizons MTR Station; 1 hr free parking with purchase) (港鐵海怡半島站步行8分鐘；憑消費1小時免費泊車)
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Harper is 4 years old and luckily free of heartworm

I spent time with my dog Murphy during the evening trying to work out what his problem was exactly, and I eventually concluded that he had lost his sense of smell.  He has been blind and deaf for some time but was still able to find his way round, recognise other individual dogs and people, and of course smell food by using his nose.  Now all of that seems to have gone, and whereas before I couldn't walk past without him noticing, now he doesn't know I'm there at all.  I didn't know if losing their sense of smell was a common thing in dogs so I Googled it and found that it even has a name, Nose Blindness.  In fact there's a lot of information about this condition but the one that best describes Murphy is this one:

What is Nose Blindness?

Nose blindness in dogs is the event where a dog is no longer able to smell or process the scents around them. With their sense of smell being one of the main ways that they navigate their surroundings, this proves to be a damaging experience for dogs as they are no longer able to rely on one of their main senses. When a dog loses their sense of smell, it is as if they are losing their sense of sight! Without being able to detect or interpret scents, dogs can find themselves unable to function properly in their surroundings, causing them to become afraid and anxious.