Mon 19th Dec: What to do when you lose a dog

Helga

I want to talk about the small-medium dogs staying at HKDR@Elgin, because now they have settled and are showing their individual characters it's time they started meeting potential adopters.  They're all friendly, both to humans and each other, and they've started being taken out for walks so we can see how they cope with noise and traffic.  Some are doing better than others, but I think we can assume they have come from rural areas where there isn't a lot of traffic.

 

There's a small "garden" at HKDR@Elgin

Hector is the shape and size of a corgi

I can't stop thinking about little Speedy-now-Lalo, also an ex-Elgin Street resident, who got spooked and ran away when he was taken to a strange place in an unknown area by the helper who was looking after him in his family's absence.  Usually a dog that gets lost in a location that's familiar will stay in the general area, but Lalo has no landmarks or scents to follow.  He was also seen being hit by a car so we don't know how badly injured he is, although being so small I imagine he's hurt.  Having just been through my own lost dog scenario, which was untypical in every way really, shows that we can only say "usually", because things can happen that will upset the normal behaviour pattern.  

My recently lost dog had no experience whatsoever of anything other than the immediate area of my house so she was easily disorientated.  Even so, she found the most important things for survival, the first being water and the second food, as the beach she ended up at was covered in dead fish and had a natural water source.  Despite having lived with me for eleven years, she stayed quiet when I was only a couple of yards from where she was hiding, so even calling a dog's name can be a pointless exercise. It's hard to imagine that your own dog will not want to come running to you, but once the survival instinct kicks in, which it does very quickly, the natural and most basic rules for the dog are to trust no one, stay hidden, and only move around at dusk and dawn when you won't be seen. I should add that as soon as Kirsten, my dog, got home she reverted to her old self and you wouldn't know that anything has happened. 

So what can you do when you lose your dog?  The first thing is to post a photo and contact information on all of the pet-related social media sites you can find, giving the location of the place that the dog was lost in. Make sure you add as much detail as you can in terms of collar or harness, the dog's size, and whether it's friendly or shy.  Inform AFCD and SPCA in case the dog is picked up, even if there's a microchip (which of course there should be). What's needed as a start is a sighting, and then you at least have an idea of where to start looking.  Once there's that first clue you can start putting posters up in that area, although they will inevitably be taken down again by the cleaners or someone.  You will just have to keep replacing them. 

Finding a lost dog that's not in the area that's familiar is really a matter of luck.  I wrote about Kirsten's story, and her rescue came down to chance and that there was a party on the remote beach where she was staying. Some stories have happy endings, others very sadly don't, but the worst thing of all is not knowing.  I really hope that Lalo will be found one way or another, and ask that anyone in the Tai Po area keeps eyes and ears open, and either call or WhatsApp, or even leave a message on the Hong Kong Dog Rescue Facebook page. Lalo was lost in Lam Tsuen, Tai Po, on Sunday 18 Dec, and was reported being seem running towards the rubbish station near Chung Ku Tsuen after being hit by a car. If you see this little dog, please call 95829084 immediately, or WhatsApp 59278676.

At least there's good news too, as the five "J" puppies who were hospitalised after testing positive for parvovirus are doing well, and look set to make a full recovery.