Tues 29th Nov: I should have stayed in bed

 If ever I wake in the morning thinking that I don't have anything particularly urgent that needs to be done, I should really pull the covers back over my head and stay there.  At least I did know that four puppies would be arriving from AFCD Shatin, one of which had very strangely been licensed (at a very young age) as a Newfoundland cross, while the others in the same litter were simply called mongrels. Tessa is indeed fluffy and gorgeous, but I'm not sure how she can qualify as a half-breed with siblings who are not.  Anyway, that's not important as all of the puppies are lovely and friendly girls.

The puppies started off at our North Street Centre in Kennedy Town, but they didn't stay there for long because there was a sudden message asking if we could take two small adults and two puppies.  While I said yes and asked that they be dropped off at North Street, I was told there was no space because the four pups from AFCD had filled the last free area, so we agreed that the four "T" puppies would move to HKDR@Elgin to make room for the other four.  So Tansy, Toastie, Tinker and Tessa are now at 22 Elgin Street if you would like to meet them, while the two adults and puppies took over the North Street space.  The adults are three years old and female, while both pups are male. 

Two small adults and two puppies

Freya going home

At least Freya had been picked up by her adopter from the Elgin Street location, and there's actually a big area for the puppies to enjoy downstairs.  The new four are the same age as the already-resident "F" litter, so I'm hoping their confidence and friendliness will rub off on the still quite shy ones. 

This is a photo of a very sad abandoned dog

There was another (horrible) surprise arrival at our Tai Po Homing Centre when a dog that had been adopted in 2014 (!!!) was "returned" by the adopter.  There had been no contact in the eight years since Muffin had been promised a home for life, but suddenly she was apparently a problem.  Some people have no shame or conscience, and this very wealthy person falls squarely into that category.   I mention that the adopter is wealthy because we're often accused of only allowing rich people with big homes to adopt, but we're fully aware that money has got nothing to do with morals or decency.  When we're assessing potential homes we do have to take into account the size of the home and the number of people living there, because it can be very stressful for a dog to have absolutely no quiet space of its own, but that doesn't mean we reject would-be adopters simply because they don't live in spacious apartments with gardens.  Every application is considered independently, and while it's true that it's always a lovely bonus if there's a garden or terrace for dogs to play in, it's certainly not a deal maker or breaker.

Muffin as a baby when she was adopted in 2014

However the worst part of the day for me came as I was walking my dogs in the morning, and ahead on the path I noticed an obviously scared dog scuttling away as it saw me approaching.  In horror I realised it was one of my dogs, Kirsten, who had never come on the walks with me but had recently started following me into the woods close to my house before turning back and going home.  I hadn't noticed that on Monday Kirsten had come quite far into the woods before disappearing, and I had just assumed she'd gone home as before, but obviously not.  I thought she'd be happy to see me on the path this morning, but she must have been in such a panic and so traumatised that she just ran away as I got closer.  I had to take the other dogs home as they're old now, and can't do very long hikes, but after that I went back to search for Kirsten, unsuccessfully.  I should explain that there's only one track that leads from my house into the woods and then along the crest of the hill, so it's actually hard to even imagine that a dog could get lost, and even then it should be easy to just follow the track back home.  I don't know why after eleven years Kirsten should suddenly decide to follow me, or why she had obviously peeled off and headed in another direction.  All I know is that she's now lost and very scared, and I can't even find a photo of her amongst the hundreds of photos I have locked in old phones and computers.  I did find a short video of my then-sick dog Oliver with Kirsten by his side, so that's what I'll use for the time being.  (The dogs chewed my external hard drive where I had everything saved).  

So for anyone living on Lamma, Kirsten is a medium-sized tan-and-white dog, and she could be anywhere on the island.  She is timid with strangers, and if she's even now scared of me then all I can hope for is a sighting so I can try to catch her.