Tues 18th June: Saving the lucky few

Gorgeous babies currently available

The month is zooming by again and the summer holiday season will soon be here, so all of those would-be adopters who can't take a dog or puppy home until August are going to miss out on the opportunity to have one of our many gorgeous current crop of youngsters.  You can meet these and many other pups any day at our Ap Lei Chau Homing Centre, or on Saturday or Sunday afternoons at this weekend's adoption events.

Saturday's new venue in Central

Of course we have new recruits coming in all the time (sadly), including one today who is now called Davey, a cute puppy found as a stray. 

Davey is safe now but that doesn't guarantee a home

Of the many young pups rescued in this way, it's horrifying to think of all the others who weren't so lucky, and there must be hundreds - if not thousands - of them.  We can't accept every dog or puppy that is picked up, but between HKDR and the many other rescue organisations at least there's some sort of safety net across Hong Kong.  The sad thing, as I have said before, is that even if taken in as puppies it doesn't necessarily guarantee a happy ending as that only happens when and if they are adopted.  I like to think, and truly believe, that at least at HKDR we can offer a reasonably happy life to the dogs that are staying with us long-term, but there are lots of dead-end shelters where the same can't be said and the dogs suffer miserable existences.

Sadly too, even being adopted doesn't always mean that a dog or puppy will be well cared-for, loved and cherished as a forever family member.  The fact that we get so many surrender requests for adult dogs, and that most of our dogs come from AFCD where they have been surrendered or picked up as strays like puppy Davey, says it all really.  For too many a puppy is something temporary to amuse the family or children and once the novelty has worn off, out it goes.  Moving home or having a baby are also common reasons for giving a dog up, so thinking and planning ahead obviously wasn't a strong point for these dog owners.  We do what we can to avoid these homes but there are no guarantees in life unfortunately.

You may be familiar with the music of Teddie Mercury

Fast-forwarding to after the summer break and as a reminder to save the date, we're looking forward to this year's big fundraiser taking place at the Aberdeen Marina Club on Saturday 21st September.  "Bohemian Pupsody" is the theme of the evening, with Teddie Mercury and a strong supporting team guaranteeing lots of music and fun.

For full information about the event, whether as guests or sponsors, please contact Gary Chin at gary@hongkongdogrescue.com.