Sun 10th April: Back at Whiskers N Paws

Willa and family

 I don't lnow about you, but it feels good to be able to see the puppies at Whiskers N Paws again, and to share the as-always beautiful photos by long-term volunteer photographer Jimmy Tsang Puppy Adoption Day 10th April 2022.  To celebrate the event there were three adoptions, all siblings as it happens, Willa, Wanda and Woody, and I'm pretty sure that leaves only Weston from the litter still available.  Foster Coordinator Cindy can correct me on that if I'm wrong, and in fact she was at Whiskers N Paws herself today to help out as we were short of volunteers.   I realised when looking through the photos that the Sunday event was how I got to know and recognise all of the puppies who stay in foster care, and why I have missed it so much.

Wanda's big moment

Woody and family

While the three "W" pups found their new homes at Whiskers N Paws, the last of the "D" litter was also chosen, just at the time that Derek's mother was picked up from AFCD Sheung Shui, along with another, older, small-medium adult.  These two are now Toffee and Candy, and I learned from AFCD that the mother, Candy, had been surrendered along with her puppies (how sad).  Anyway, as I have often said before, being abandoned by their horrible owners is often the best thing that could happen to a dog, because not only have the four pups each found themselves loving families, but Candy also has a potential home to go to after her vet check up.  If you're interested in adopting Toffee, who's also a very sweet girl, please complete the adoption questionnaire at www.hongkongdogrescue.com/adopt/adoption-questionnaire/

Toffee is 10 years young

Young mother Candy

While today was a happy day for the puppies, I was also very sad to learn that one of the "Dog Island" dogs seems to be no more.  For those who don't know the history of HKDR and how it all started, it was because of the dogs that were regularly dumped on the uninhabited island just off the bay where I live. I started feeding these dogs way back in 1986, taking off as many as I could for re-homing (and keeping several myself), and since then many have come and gone.  

Over the past several years the numbers have remained steady at just two, a male (that I had desexed after three litters were born) and a very timid female.  The two dogs became quite well-known, so much so that others took over the feeding as well as building a rain-proof station for the food, and even passing sampans would throw bags of food to the beach for the pair to pick up. 

The annual fire festival on "Dog Island"

 As you know, last Tuesday was Ching Ming, and as "Dog Island" has many graves on it, setting fire to the undergrowth has become a yearly event, just as many other grave-covered hillsides over Hong Kong are similarly burned off.  I thought last Sunday would be the day for setting fire to the island, and was happy to see that nothing happened.  However today the fires started and quickly took hold, thanks to the dry weather and the wind that fanned the flames. The other bay residents and I watched as the fireboat arrived, and the helicopters with the water buckets, but in the end at least half of the island was burned.  It was when I said I hoped the dogs would be OK that I found out that the friendly male hadn't been seen for a while, and only the shy female was still around. 

Babs looks like her father

I had to break the sad news to his daughter, Babs, who lives with me, that her daddy was no more. She took the news well.