Thurs 24th March: Easter plans

Two is always better than one

One of the things that I hear repeated over and over again is that a home is better than staying in kennels, even if it means a dog being left alone for very long hours and under-exercised.  There is so much lack of understanding about dogs and their needs, and the sad thing is that these are the very dogs that are ultimately thrown out for "bad" behaviour.  They can't be toilet trained (they are obviously supposed to teach themselves since there is nobody at home to do that), they are destructive (bored dogs tend to be like that), they bark (they are probably shouting for help) and so on.  These dogs are like conveniences, something to be there in the evening when the owners get home and have a couple of hours to spare, but are expected to sit and wait patiently for up to twelve hours during the day.  If they're very lucky they'll get taken out in the dark for a short daily walk, but most likely they will have to wait until the weekend - as long as it's not raining.

The truth is that while staying with us at HKDR the dogs have company, at the very least other dogs to play with for Tai Po residents, or humans if they are at Ap Lei Chau.  They are walked as often as possible, twice a day for the little ones during the week and much more than that at weekends, but the point is that this is a hopefully temporary situation.  This is not going to be for ever, only until a nice home is found.  If we allow dogs to go to homes that are considered only better than being in our Homing Centres, that is how their lives until they die, and that's not good enough.

Puppies love to have a friend to play with

Many of the would-be adopters that are rejected are perfectly nice people and genuine dog lovers, and it's not a personal character assassination at all when we say no.  There are other pets that would be more suitable, although most living creatures crave companionship, whether of their own kind or human. Too many pets lead solitary and extremely lonely lives, and it seems pointless to me to rescue any dog or puppy and then to place them in this situation.   The internationally recognised length of time that is acceptable for a dog to be left on its own on a regular basis is four hours, although older dogs may sleep for a lot of the time so of course there can be adjustments made.  For puppies, having companionship is a non-negotiable requirement.

There are several things happening this Easter weekend, with the Tamar Park dog outing being a regular Saturday event now, and the Freespace Happening at West Kowloon  on Sunday
自由約 Freespace Happening (27.3.2016)
2:00pm – 7:00pm
西九文化區苗圃公園 Nursery Park, West Kowloon Cultural District
www.westkowloon.hk/freespacehappening

We'll be at Whiskers N Paws on Sunday too, and don't forget that every day is puppy day now!