It was an early start for me as I had to get one of the Lamma dogs to Concordia in Happy Valley to find out why she was vomiting bile. That might sound like an easy enough exercise, but many of my dogs have never experienced life outside my very isolated environment, and even getting Michelle into a crate was dramatic enough. Anyway we made it, and as always when I go to a vet clinic I meet other HKDR fosters and adopters, including their dogs and puppies of course.
One of today's dogs was Otis, who's been a regular visitor to Concordia due to his heart condition, which sadly is deteriorating. Otis was a puppy when he first came to HKDR, and his story has been one of ups and downs, which included one very traumatic experience of his then-owner leaving him (and another dog) tied up outside the SPCA in Wanchai, and walking away. Otis only just escaped being destroyed by AFCD for being a biter, a totally understandable reaction to his complete fear and confusion at being abandoned in such a cruel and unnecessary manner. After I managed to get him out of AFCD's Death Row, he stayed for a while at our then-Ap Lei Chau Homing Centre before going to a foster home, and then there was another move to his current family where he's been extremely happy (you may be following him on Instagram and have seen his funny updates).
I'm sure you know by now that all adopters from HKDR have free access to our very experienced trainer, Cactus Mok, and we always ask that everyone take advantage of this valuable service rather than going elsewhere for help, unless specifically recommended by Cactus. The internet and social media sites are full of training information and videos, some of which are very good but others are not, and it's a minefield for new dogs owners wanting to find reliable information and do the best for their dog or puppy. In fact almost all behaviour problems that Cactus is asked about are normal and standard for many dogs, so they're easy enough to resolve in most cases. However I think it's true to say that that many issues that are blamed on the dog are only their reaction to outside influences, environment and their human's handling of the problem. This Facebook page is really an excellent resource for helping to recognise what is normal dog behaviour and why it arises, and I can highly recommend Dogs Disclosed to all dog families who want to understand their dog better.
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| Terry taking the two dogs home |
I mentioned that newcomers to Tai Po, Arnold and Georgia, had arrived at just the right time as their now-adopter had recently lost a couple of his senior dogs to old age-related diseases. I can now tell you that this adopter is our own volunteer Terry, who has given so many seniors their last and forever home. I hope that Arnold (now being Ah Wong again) and Georgia (now Gigi) will have many happy years ahead of them. Thank you again Terry!
Terry is absolutely amazing offering homes to so many senior dogs. An incredible human. Thank you Terry. X
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