Thurs 10th March: Just being a dog

Say "cheese" everyone!

Adoptions come first, and there are actually a few lucky dogs who'll soon be leaving but for today I'll just mention older puppy Puddle, also known as Loki, who has been in a wonderful foster home until today when his new family took over.  Congratulations Puddle-Loki!

 Some people have the idea that any home is better than life in a shelter, or whatever you want to call the place that dogs stay while waiting for adoption.  We prefer to call them Homing Centres, and what we offer at HKDR is nothing like a line of kennels with unhappy faces staring out between the bars.  

On Lamma we keep the smaller dogs, many of which were the overflow from the now-closed Ap Lei Chau Homing Centre, as well as the dogs that used to stay upstairs, the "office dogs" and "Shy Squad".  With nowhere for them to go when we had to leave Ap Lei Chau, they moved to Lamma where they immediately settled and mixed in with the resident dogs without any trouble.  You can see from the photo taken today that everyone gets along, even the three shibas, Damson, Donny and Gumbo.

 

Many of these were difficult to find homes for, the office dogs either being very shy, or with difficult behaviour (the shiba inus and cocker spaniel Phaedra), likewise the very timid dogs River and the four "Crickets" (same family and all looking alike).   Fast forward to Lamma, and you can see that the dogs are not only happy, they all mix in really well. 

The photos shown were taken today when Iris came over to visit, and as the weather is so amazing now the dogs all headed for the beach to have a swim.  Phaedra took one look at the water and dived right in from the pier, and shiba inu Damson also loves to swim.

What makes these challenging dogs so easy to handle when they're on Lamma?  It's quite simple, and it's down to two things.  The first is that they have freedom, both in terms of space, and choice (to a certain extent of course).  They have a large outside area they can roam in, and a house they sleep in at night, and the choice of where to go and what to do is entirely theirs.  They have food, and attention if they want it, but they're also left alone to make their own decisions, and freedom of choice is what most pet dogs don't have.  Of course the majority of those that live a human-type life adjust well to that lifestyle and are perfectly happy, but in real terms it's not a natural way of being for a dog.   Phaedra, Donny, Damson and Gumbo are young dogs that could be in homes, but they would have to be the right ones.  Until then they can enjoy a happy life on Lamma.