Sun 19th Dec: Testing the DNA tests

Scribble

The adoptions at our Ap Lei Chau Homing Centre started almost as soon as the doors opened at ten o'clock, and Scribble was the lucky girl who was chosen to go home.  Actually the family had already met her and others on Saturday,  and had emailed their choice before coming to take Scribble home.  I'm really happy for this sweet dog because her previous family had so cruelly abandoned her at AFCD when they left Hong Kong, and I wanted her to go to a new home with children again. 

Taki

Of course all dogs have good reason to deserve a second chance, like shiba inu Taki, an ex-breeder dog who was discarded due to the scars and wounds on his legs.  These were presumably caused by the conditions the dogs were kept in, perhaps lying on rough concrete, and we're just happy that we can save at least some from such a terrible life.   Taki has a lovely home now, and the family plan to leave Hong Kong for the USA in the next year or so and will of course be taking their dog with them.  

One of the "K" litter today, the next generation of "Edibles"

Bejamin Po was our volunteer photographer at Whiskers N Paws today  Puppy Adoption Day 19th Dec 2021, and as expected it wasn't a busy couple of hours for adoptions even if the puppies didn't care and just enjoyed their two-hour playtime.  There was a happy end to the afternoon though, as the foster parent of youngsters Ripple and Wavy, rescued as newborns during heavy rain, confirmed that they would be staying.  Hooray for Failed Fosters and double adoptions! 

Back from foster to Ap Lei Chau

As Ripple and Wavy upgraded from foster status to adopted, three other foster pups were returned to our Ap Lei Chau Homing Centre (with thanks to their foster parents for taking good care of them when they were babies).  These are the "W" litter, so you can meet them any day of the week now. 

"I am the person who adopted Lemon (who is still called Lemon, by the way) from your Tai Po branch in about June. Thought you would like to know she has settled in well and 

is healthy and happy. I am still a bit puzzled as to how I finished up with such a huge dog, which was not what I was looking for at all, but Lemon has won my heart with her intelligence and affectionate personality."

I received an update on another one of "The Edibles" litter, this time Lemon, and I was able to share the DNA test results for her brother, Ziti, with the adopter.   In fact someone else had sent me the DNA results for her adopted dogs Luna, and it got me wondering about these tests.  When they first became available some years ago and I'd seen some of the results, they were too far-fetched to be believable.  I think the problem was that the database of breeds was too limited, so all of the rare Chinese breeds that Ziti has as part of his DNA wouldn't have been included.  Anyway I decided to test the test, and to use my Lamma dog Griffin to do this.  The reason I chose him is because I'm pretty sure that he is part German pointer, so it will be interesting to see if his results show this breed in his DNA make-up.  I'll let you know.

Griffin's sisters as puppies with a German pointer

I try to avoid reading the news too much as it's usually too depressing, so I'd missed this story about another vanload of dogs and cats that had been intercepted en route to pet shops (I assume) or buyers. This time the animals were taken by AFCD rather than robbers, but I understand they will have to be kept in quarantine for four months, so it's still not a happy outcome. (https://www.thestandard.com.hk/section-news/section/11/237155/Van-surprise-as-51-dogs,-cats-rescued?fbclid=IwAR0OywjGzMH3HmKq581xhYZAcMH-eH7jYn4RIdVYhmM19PCo8s0max-L638).