Weds 19th July: A new home for Ziggy

Trisha is undeniably gorgeous

 There are lots of enquiries coming in regarding the smaller dogs at our Kennedy Town North Street Centre, which is obviously what we like to see.  However there's a big difference between someone asking, and even coming to meet the dogs, and an actual adoption, so if - for example - Trisha is the most requested that doesn't mean she's off the books until she actually leaves.  We have been caught out in the past by adoption promises, so now we have to keep a strict policy of not holding dogs or puppies.  The three Jack Russell-cross puppies are also popular, but the same obviously applies in all cases. 

I have to also repeat something I've written many times before,  because it comes up time and time again, and it's pretty frustrating.  It's that ALL puppies bite, because they're baby animals with no concept of training or an understanding of the human world.  If you watch adult dogs play, mock biting is essential to their games, with each dog taking turns to "attack" the other.  With puppies they still have to learn about controlling their bites, and their baby teeth are razor sharp and can hurt, so if this is something you don't feel you want to deal with, please don't adopt a young puppy.  Alternatively adopt a pair so they can play to their heart's content without involving tender human flesh.  

We receive surrender requests all the time, and there are usually only a handful of reasons.  One is behaviour issues (commonly corgis and shiba inu), which is all down to incorrect training when the dog was a puppy.   Another is allergy issues, which is something that could be established before adoption simply by being in close contact with a dog or puppy for even a short time, as the reaction happens pretty quickly.  However the worst of all is the "leaving Hong Kong" excuse, with the most recent being incredibly upsetting because it was so unexpected.

Ziggy needs a new home

Wigbert, as I had called him, was adopted as a young puppy in early 2017 during the time when I was always at Whiskers N Paws on Sundays.  The adopters' daughter, then in her late teens, came back regularly on Sundays so I got to see Wigbert (now Ziggy) grow up, and he was always a lovely and very sweet dog.  It never occurred to me that he would be one of those who at seven years of age would be a victim of the "leaving Hong Kong" story, but it seems that it's another case of the puppy being the daughter's responsibility and she herself left Hong Kong a year ago.  In reality this case is no different to all of the others, but it feels more personal because I got to see Ziggy so often and it really hurts me to know that he will soon be losing everything he knew.  He has a couple of months left before being evicted, and I want him to find a new family before that time.  The photos I was sent are unfortunately pretty poor, but you can at least get an idea of what he looks like. 

As with all of our dogs and puppies, please start the adoption process by completing the questionnaire at www.hongkongdogrescue.com/adopt/adoption-questionnaire/.

If you can't promise to keep a dog for its entire natural life, please foster instead.  We have plenty of dogs and puppies that need temporary homes, whether short or longer term, and you can complete the foster application at www.hongkongdogrescue.com/volunteer/fostering/. 

We have been asked to take yet more small dogs, including poodles that have apparently had a very sad life so far, so please do let us know if you can help.  We don't have any specific information yet, but it would be good to have potential experienced homes or fosters on standby.