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.
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