Fri 31st Jan: Holidays over and the weekend begins

 I just wanted to do another quick update for the end of the month, and of the Chinese New Year holiday, even though it's now the weekend. 

Firstly, we're still getting a lot of enquiries about Guy the French bulldog, although he's off the available list for now while we give him time to settle and de-stress.  Not knowing his past other than being told he was about to be abandoned, we don't know why he has behaviour issues at such a young age, even though I can make a good guess.  The good news is that he seems to be enjoying his new quarters and is responding to his personal space being respected, so I'm hopeful that he'll soon drop his fear-based behaviour.

Another Lamma dog who came to us with similar, or even worse trauma, is corgi boy Boomer, or Bubu as he was previously called.  He was also very young when we accepted his from his previous owner, but he was untouchable.  It's taken two years of just allowing him to watch and follow the other dogs, but for the first time today he actually asked me to pet him.  I did of course, and Bubu really enjoyed having his ears scratched and chest rubbed, although I kept it short for this initial session. I realise that it's unreasonable to expect adopters to be able to wait that long for a dog to drop unwanted behaviour, and I'm not sure that Bubu will ever be suitable for adoption, but I just wanted to mention that even extreme anxiety will fade over time. 

As is now traditional, a large group of Tai Po dogs enjoyed a Chinese New Year's day out with volunteers, so thank you to everyone who participated.  All hiking volunteers are those who have been coming to help out at the Homing Centre for some time, just in case you're wondering if you can sign up just to take the dogs out for a hike.  

Some of the dogs that get adopted directly from foster homes may not have their photos taken at the time of adoption, so I want to share a photo of two such dogs who ended up living quite close to each other.  They're Porter and Umbria, and you can see how similar they are, as well as both being gorgeous. 

French bulldog Pierre also moved from his foster to a forever home, so I hope we'll also have an adoption photo to share soon, as well as the list of other dogs adopted during January.

Finally, the lease has been signed for the new Homing Centre premises on Ap Lei Chau, so we will take over the site in a few days.  It will still take some time to renovate and get everything ready to receive the dogs and staff from both of the Kennedy Town Centres, but now it's official that we will soon be back.  As mentioned previously, it's was a difficult decision to make because although we have always wanted to move back to Ap Lei Chau, and to bring the two Centres  together again, the cost of renovating is inevitably very high and we desperately need donations to help us cover at least some of the costs.  If you can help, here is the link: Account name with HSBC - Hong Kong Dog Rescue Limited

Account no. - HSBC - 741-263776-838
You can also do a transfer with other options in this link .
https://hongkongdogrescue.com/donate/one-off-donations/

Tues 28th Jan: Welcoming the Year of the Snake!

 Just a quick update as we enter the Year of the Snake, because there were two small dogs whose details were shared on our social media pages and who received a lot of attention.  One of these was a poodle puppy we'd been asked to take, and after immediately agreeing and arranging a drop-off time, the now ex-owner said she had passed the puppy to a friend.  While it might seem like a good result, we know from experience that this is how and when behaviour issues begin, because it's almost inevitable that this pup will be passed from home to home before ending up as a "Red" poodle, meaning basically unadoptable.

As I have written so many times before, the early months of a dog's life will shape it for ever, and it's very sad that so many puppies end up with behaviour problems due to the lack of socialisation and training when young.  The French bulldog Guy, who's the second case I wanted to write about, is almost certainly one of these, because the breed is one that's normally very friendly with people, even if they can sometimes be a bit of a problem with other dogs.  

Guy had probably been caged, which some people like to call 'crated' as it sounds better, but what happens when you lock a dog in what's essentially a small box is that their brains and personality don't develop properly.  Puppies are no different from human children in that they need to be able to have the freedom to make decisions, to move around, to play and to learn, and taking this away from them has life-long repercussions.  Of course there may be times when a puppy needs to be contained for a while, but a fence or baby gate can do the job while still providing some space. 

Anyway, in the end we had to move Guy out of the Homing Centre for his own sanity, and he was sent over to Lamma where a large-ish area had been fenced off for him.  It was already early evening when he arrived, but he seemed very happy with his new space, and after having something to eat he spent a long time sniffing out every interesting smell, of which there were plenty.  We'll see how things go over the Chinese New Year break, but for now all adoption enquiries will be put on hold.  

To finish, two lucky (and lovely) Tai Po dogs found a home together.  They are Sunshine and Isa (who has been with us since she was a newborn puppy), and it's a wonderful end to the Chinese year. 

Sun 26th Jan: Cold but happy days for some dogs

It's been a week since I last had time to write a blog, mainly because having a house full of aging dogs means there's extra care needed, as well as vet visits which pretty much take up a whole day.  As soon as I think one problem has been fixed another suddenly crops us, and this time it's Ruthie who suddenly became very ill.  

A few of you might remember her as being a doglet who ran away after she was adopted, and I had to go to Fanling on an almost daily basis looking for her.  In the end it turned out she'd been hiding in some woodland, and was eventually lured out with food and the sound of my voice.  That was a long time ago as Ruthie's now an old lady, but like many of my Lamma dogs she has a story to tell and a reason for still being with me.

In case any of you are still wondering whether or not we'll be open over the Chinese New Year holiday, the answer is yes, we open every single day of the year regardless of any holidays, or even typhoons.  You can't just switch the dogs off and tell them not to eat, drink or anything else that's a daily necessity, something that sadly quite a lot of potential adopters seem to think happens when they're out at work for long hours.  Having a dog is a commitment which can be inconvenient at times, but that's what you sign up for when you decide to bring any animal into your home.  The dogs at our Homing Centres receive the same care on any day of the year, so welcoming visitors makes no difference. 

Also, since the Chinese New Year holiday falls mid-week, we won't have to miss any of the Sunday Puppy Parties at Whiskers N Paws, and we were there today with a gorgeous selection of hopefuls which you can see here Puppy Adoption Day 26th Jan 2025 . Kevin Chan was today's photographer, and we also had some young volunteers whose photos will be shared later. 

We've seen quite a few of our smaller dogs leaving to start their new lives, some from Kennedy Town and others from foster homes. Pippa the schnauzer, Porter the scruffy terrier, Candy the French bulldog, Cleo the poodle and Nando the little mix to name some.   Even Austin, who has been waiting a long time for a suitable home, left today for a short trial adoption (which I feel confident he will pass). 

We also had an in-and-out Frenchie passing through, one I'd mentioned before as being not good with other dogs so we couldn't keep him at the Homing Centre.  I waited until a suitable home was offered before agreeing to take him, and it was all so quick that he wasn't even given a name before leaving.  I really hope everything works out for this little guy. 

There will be happy news too from our Tai Po Homing Centre this coming week, but I'll save the details until the dogs have been picked up. 

Sun 19th Jan: Some special cases of special dogs

 We have some particular dogs that are in special need of a new home or foster for a variety of reasons.  As we remind everyone who brings a new dog into the home, it has to be remembered that it's a very stressful time for the dog, and it's quite normal that they don't eat or even drink at first, and may just want to hide and observe. Forcing any kind of interaction isn't recommended because it will just increase the stress and delay the settling in, and usually it only takes a matter of days before things naturally improve.

This can be longer if there's another dog in the house, or if the dog is particularly shy, but too often the adopter will give up and return the dog.  The reason that we know it's only the situation and a matter of time and patience, is because when the dog finds a new home there are no such issues and everything is fine.

However there are some situations when it's not possible for the dog to stay in the home, and that's the case with Odette, a beautiful and young terrier type.  She went to a foster who had already adopted two HKDR dogs, and offered to open her home to a third on an ongoing basis, meaning when each foster dog was adopted then another would move in.  In Odette's case, she immediately bonded with the mother in the home, and wanted to be close to her all the time.  In that sense she was a perfect dog, very sweet and loving, well behaved in the home and outside,  and no problem with the resident dogs.  However Odette's adoration was for the mother only, and in a family home with husband, children and helper, that wasn't ideal.  Odette could stay if the mother was able to work from home, but as she needs to go back to the office on Monday, we all felt it was best to find Odette another foster, or hopefully a permanent home. 

Another terrier type, also young at only a year old and smaller than Odette, is Kingsley.  He's staying at our Kennedy Town Homing Centre, and while just like Odette he's a great little dog, he has too much energy to be at the Centre, and he's still very puppy-like in his behaviour which can be difficult in a small place that's full of other dogs.  Kingsley may be small, but like all terriers he has a strong personality and lots of energy, so he would love long walks and the opportunity to race around on a beach (for example).  Kingsley has been fantastic at the events he's attended as our little HKDR Ambassador so we know all he needs is the time, training and exercise to be a fantastic family member. 

We also have another small and strong-minded dog, although he isn't with us yet.  This is the French bulldog that I'd mentioned previously, but at that time he didn't come with the other eight dogs we took in.  One of those that did arrive last week was another Frenchie, a girl we called Candy, but although there was a lot of initial interest, all adopters disappeared once they learned she was four years old and not a puppy.  Now I'm hoping that there will be renewed interest in the grey boy, because he's only a year old, but he does have the typical Frenchie attitude of so many, meaning he's not great with other dogs.  This is now an urgent case as I'm told the current owners of this boy plan to get rid of him one way or another. 

I realise it's not the best time of the year for adoptions, with Chinese New Year coming up very soon, but surely not everyone is leaving for the holiday and it could be the perfect time to bring a new dog into the home.

Also not every dog is difficult, and many are totally sweet and easy from the moment they walk in through the door.  I include puppies as a good example, and I'm sure the new family of puppy Pancake adopted today at Whiskers N Paws won't have any settling in problems to deal with.  There's also a puppy at the Tai Po Homing Centre I want to mention, as she's a few months old now and the sweetest girl, not to mention extremely cute.  Her name is Jasmine, and she's the last of her litter and in need of a family of her own.

Thanks to volunteer photographer Sophie Burkhardt for her time and efforts today at Whiskers N Paws  Puppy Adoption Day 19th Jan 2025, and as Sophie will soon be retiring as a volunteer as she's due to give birth soon, and others have also left Hong Kong altogether, we're in need of new volunteers to help out on Sundays and at other events.  Please email Photography Coordinator Elena Mathew at elenamathew@gmail.com if you would like to sign up as a volunteer photographer. 

Fri 17th Jan: The many varieties of poodle

 I can tell you a lot about mongrels/mixed breeds, but I'm not an expert on the varieties of so-called purebred dogs and their fancy colourings.  One of the new poodles had been described as a "phantom" (colour) by the vet, and I had to Google the term as I had no idea what this was.  I now know that the "phantom" is Cooper, although somehow I doubt that AFCD have this option in their database for licensing.  

As well as the most recent group of eight that came to Kennedy Town, another three who arrived just a few days earlier have been overlooked so I want to share their photos here (thanks as usual to volunteer Harryn for the lovely shots). Polly is a one year-old shiba, while Pippa is a miniature schnauzer, five years, and gorgeous Porter my favourite terrier type, also five. 

After being inundated with adoption requests for the cream French bulldog, Candy, interest dwindled after she was estimated to be four years old, and not a puppy. To me, living as I do with so many older dogs, most of whom are around fourteen and still active and even lively, it's strange to hear that four years is considered to be too old.  

Most of our Kennedy Town dogs come via an independent rescue group who take in waifs and strays and then pass them on for re-homing.  Occasionally we also get small dogs from AFCD, and today we took two from the Kowloon Animal Management Centre, a senior poodle (Mochi) and a shih tzu girl Moko.  We don't anticipate a rush of adoption offers, but it would be nice for the older dogs to at least go to foster homes if possible. 

It seems that everything happens at Kennedy Town, but I'm happy to say that the Tai Po Homing Centre dogs also find homes, even if not as frequently as the smaller ones.   Many of the dogs have been with us since they were puppies so you can imagine that the staff and volunteers have grown to love them as they've changed from youngsters to mature adults, although we always hope that they won't grow old without finding their own family.  Puppy Sandy, sister of just-adopted Santa, was lucky to be chosen this week, as was short-legged Dixon.  He's gone to live with another ex-HKDR dog, and they're a perfect match. 

As a reminder, the address of our Tai Po Homing Centre is 6 Shek Lin Road, and if you want to come and meet the many wonderful dogs that are waiting to be adopted, please start by completing the questionnaire at www.hongkongdogrescue.com/adopt/adoption-questionnaire/.

The same applies for our smaller Kennedy Town dogs, and the address of the Homing Centre is Shop 4 Brilliant Court, Sai Hong Lane, 28 Praya Kennedy Town.

If you can foster one of the dogs that needs s place to stay temporarily, the form is at www.hongkongdogrescue.com/volunteer/fostering/.  Please note that not all dogs need foster homes and those that we think stand a high chance of finding a permanent home fairly quickly are better off staying at the Homing Centres so they can easily be seen by potential adopters. 

Weds 15th Jan: A quick update on new dogs

 It was another frantic day at our Kennedy Town Centre with the arrival of eight new dogs to add to the others that we'd taken in on an almost daily basis.  We had an appointment booked for three o'clock at Acorn so the dogs could be checked and vaccinated in readiness for potential adoption or fostering, and in the meantime I was trying to reply to the emails that were coming in, especially regarding one particular dog, the Frenchie.  I didn't know anything about her, even at that stage that she was a female, but it's one of the funny things that for whatever reason a photo will spark huge interest even though we already have an almost-identical Frenchie available called Pierre.  As it happens, the new girl and Pierre are both four years old, and I suspect that quite a few potential adopters assumed the new girl was a puppy. 

Now that I have the vet notes for all of the new dogs, I'll list them here so you can have a better idea.  The ages are an estimation by the vet and may not be exact, and names will be added very soon. Please remember that we also have many smaller dogs that have already been with us for a few days to several weeks, and we have a much better idea of their character.

Corgi, male, one year old.

Corgi, female, one year old.

Large black poodle, male, seven years old.

Black poodle, female, six years old.

Cream poodle, female, 2 years old.

Cream Frenchie, female, four years old.

Poodle, "phantom" colour, male, three years old.

Schnauzer cross, male, eight moths old.

If you're interested in adopting, please start by completing the questionnaire at www.hongkongdogrescue.com/adopt/adoption-questionnaire/, and I'll try to reply with a day, if not immediately.  

Regarding the female corgi, she was very badly injured before being found by some rubbish bins, and although I have a photo showing her awful condition at that time I won't share it here (it's really not nice).  She's almost fully healed but still has some wounds and potentially fractured toes, so it's probably best at this point that she's not in a home with other dogs that may want to play and so prevent complete healing. 

Sun 12th Jan: Puppy love

 One of the many things I love about puppies is that they immediately welcome everyone as their best friend.  There's no hesitation or checking to see the breed or colour, all that matters is a willingness to join in the games.  You can see exactly this in the always wonderful photos take by our regular volunteer photographer, Eric Tang, at today's Puppy Party at Whiskers N Paws, where various puppies came together for the first time Puppy Adoption Day 12th Jan 2025.  Anna was today's lucky puppy, while previously-resident Santa left on Saturday with her new family.

Talking of volunteer photographers, a lot of our regulars have now left Hong Kong and we're in need of replacements who can spare time on occasional Sunday afternoons from two o'clock until four.  We're particularly looking for those who can help on a longer term basis so our Volunteer Coordinator, Elena Mathew, can schedule someone in advance for every Sunday.  If you have some skills with a camera and especially taking photos of puppies, please email info@hongkongdogrescue.com. 

We've had so many new dogs arriving at our Kennedy Town Homing Centre, and I've posted their photos on Facebook as they came in.  You can always check our long-term volunteer Harryn's Instagram @ h_dogsister for lot of lovely photos and videos of the Kennedy Town dogs if interested, as well as those we regularly share on our own Facebook and Instagram page @ hkdr_official. Some lucky newbies left again almost immediately, including Barney the terrier and Noah the Sheepdoodle, while others have gone for a short trial with resident dogs.

As you know by now, not all adoptions last for ever, and the saddest case of all is that of Scribble, who through no fault of her own has come back to us three times. We really need to know that her next home will be her last and final one.

Also in need of a new family is 5 year-old miniature pinscher Enzo, who again through no fault of his will need to leave his current home. I'm looking for good photos to share as the ones we were sent are honestly useless, but mini pins look the same, and all I can add is that Enzo weighs 5 kilos. 

There have been a lot of social media posts about dog poisonings recently, and many photos of a variety of suspicious-looking baited food left out.  I can't be specific about places as there are too many to name individually, but please be on the lookout for anything that looks like food at the side of the road, especially if your dog is the type to eat something like that.  

Tues 7th Jan: An interesting combination

 I'm writing another blog today because we are expecting a large intake of dogs in the run-up to Chinese New Year, and I've already mentioned two that arrived at our Kennedy Town Centre on Monday, while today another two turned up.  Before anything else I'll correct my previous post saying that Bubble is a poodle, because he and Barney went to Acorn today and he's now officially a young bichon, two years old.  Barney is a terrier mix and he's also young at an estimated two years, with both being very friendly dogs.

I haven't got an age estimate yet for today's pair as both Iris (the Kennedy Town manager) and I were at a meeting when the dogs arrived, but I'd seen a photo of (now) Noah and couldn't decide if he was an Old English Sheepdog or a poodle.  I sent the photo to someone who had been waiting for an Old English Sheepdog to turn up, and he replied that the dog is in fact a Sheepdoodle.  I'm sure you all know about the crazy mixes that are being bred and sold as breeds, and most of them are a cross between a poodle and something else, and this is also true of Noah, half poodle and half Old English Sheepdog.  I expect we'll have a lot of interest in this boy, so please complete the questionnaire at www.hongkongdogrescue.com/adopt/adoption-questionnaire/ as a first step, and we will choose the home that we feel is most suitable.  Please bear in mind that at this point we don't know anything about Noah, so that will have to wait until Iris and the vet can make an assessment.  The same applies to very cute Nando.

If you're looking for a dog or puppy to adopt please keep checking our social media pages for updates on new arrivals, as well as the many dogs that we already have waiting at our Homing Centres in Kennedy Town and Tai Po. 

Mon 6th Jan: Always new arrivals

 It's been a while since I posted my last blog, and no, I haven't been on holiday, I've just been pretty busy with this and that.  We're short-staffed right now with people taking holidays and Eva having left, so please be patient if we're a little slow in getting back to you. 

We've had several new arrivals this year, including a litter of four beautiful puppies plus an extra from another litter.  Lola is just as beautiful, however she has most of one front leg missing, something that occurred while she was still inside her mother and not post-birth trauma.  What remains of the front leg will need to be surgically removed but that can only be done when Lola is older, probably at the time of desexing. Having three legs doesn't mean a dog is handicapped in any way, and we know this from other "tripods" that have been adopted and can run around just as fast as any four-legged friends.  We need a foster home for Lola, if not a forever family, so please email Cindy at foster@hongkongdogrescue.com if you can look after a gorgeous puppy for a while. 

Today we also took in two new smaller dogs, Barney (terrier type) and Bubble (a poodle), and we have been asked if we can accept still more.  Some things never change, and the endless line of dogs needing temporary care until they're adopted is one of those things.  It's not as serious with the smaller dogs as they're easier to home than the larger mixed breeds, but there's still all of the vet bills to pay for, as well as the food and medications.  

The question of where the dogs come from and why there are always so many needing homes is something we're constantly being asked, and one of the answers is the online sale of puppies (and other animals).  It's so upsetting to know that this goes on, as though these poor little animals were an item of clothing, and so many times they don't even exist (meaning it's a scam), or they're so weak and sick that they end up dying. AFCD have been warning about what they call "petfishing", and here's the link https://www.pets.gov.hk/petfishing/en/.   One of the sad things about this is that it's the people who are rejected for adoption who choose online buying, which means that the homes were never suitable anyway, so even if the puppies survive they're destined for a very sad life before being abandoned on the street after a short time.  

Many of the dogs that come to us have been found on the street, including French bulldog Pierre, who's currently in a foster home while he waits for his forever family.  As with all adoption enquiries, please start by completing the questionnaire at www.hongkongdogrescue.com/adopt/adoption-questionnaire/. 

I said that some things never change, but other things do of course, and as I've mentioned previously we'll be packing up our Kennedy Town Centres after Chinese New Year and moving back to Ap Lei Chau.  I'm not sure of the exact timing as the new site needs to be completely renovated, although we will need to keep things as basic as possible due to financial constraints unless we're lucky enough to receive substantial donations.  If you're able to support us for this move, please go to https://hongkongdogrescue.com/donate/one-off-donations/ for donation options.

We also always need newspaper please!