Weds 3rd Nov: Happy and sad endings

Tiny Taryn has her own family now

 If I had to choose one dog to adopt out of the large number we have at our Ap Lei Chau Homing Centre I would find it very difficult, as there are so many I would want.  Today's adopters also started with picking one, then changing their minds and eventually leaving with tiny Taryn, one of the ones on my own wish list.  She instantly stole my heart with her funny little face (and underbite), and it's clear I wasn't the only one to be won over by her charms. 

Adopter Kat says "Adopt don't Shop!"

Ziti arrived safely in England, and I've been sent multiple videos of him exploring the garden (real green grass!) and playing inside the house, all of which prove what an amazingly easygoing nature he has.  He met his chow chow "brother" and there have been no problems at all, so we can safely say this is a very happy ending to a life that started as a tiny baby foundling.

I'm often reminded that a dog's life is too short, whether the ending is natural or otherwise.  Today I got news of another amazing dog who used to be called Freddie when he lived with me, but became Sambal when he walked right across Lamma after that terrifying typhoon Mangkhut tore down the fencing, releasing all of the dogs.  I don't know why Freddie decided to pack up and leave, but after finding himself a new home his microchip revealed his identity so the formal adoption was arranged and he became Sambal.   His life ended today when he took on a cobra, a fatal mistake too many of my dogs have also made. 

I don't suppose too many of you remember a pair of dogs that came to us several years ago, but Portia and Faro were two lovely souls who were very close to each other.  They ended up in different homes, each one finding their own family.   There were a lot of photos sent with the following message, but I particularly love this one which seems to show Faro on the stairway to heaven. 

"Since the day i met Faro 8.5 years ago I have held in the back of my mind how many people he had already made a huge impact on, through HKDR. We recently said goodbye to our gorgeous boy, our best companion, and we will never be the same. Since coming home with us, he helped us foster 4 dogs through their own tough journeys, he became a brother to two more fur sisters and then a little human joined his family. He always seemed to understand more than we could imagine, intent on being the very best fur friend I could have imagined. Tens of thousands of hours of walks have come to an end. We will miss his gorgeous face, his pure joy at running in rivers, his enthusiasm to get going in the mornings and his endless sleepy cuddles.

Thank you to all at HKDR for making our lives together possible and for providing the care and love that he needed in his earlier years."