Sat 23rd April: Can we start the year afresh?

Jill is the sweetest girl possible but she is still waiting

I've been sitting here in front of my computer for quite some time now trying to think what I can write about, and my mind is still a blank.  This year has been the quietest in terms of adoptions since we started keeping records, and to say that it's worrying would be an understatement.  It's not as if our "stock" can just be neatly put away in storage until needed, or that puppies who can't find homes have somewhere else to go, because that's obviously not the case.

Banjo (and lookalike siblings Athena and Sophie) are wonderful older puppies, also still waiting

This is what Sundays are supposed to be for

When I look at the photos of the Tai Po dogs that are posted on Facebook by our volunteers I'm reminded again about each individual and wonder how come that one hasn't been adopted yet, or that one, and so on. What is it about 2016 that seems to have got the year off to a bad start and kept it that way?  There were my own health issues which began in January and lasted three months (thankfully all over now), the terrible weather, the record number of celebrity deaths (not that they have anything to do with dogs or Hong Kong but still) and the seemingly never-ending public holidays which always affect weekend adoptions.  I try to stay positive and think that the bad months are in the past and then, goddammit, the weather is once again set to be appalling for Sunday and the Whiskers N Paws puppy afternoon.  We can be under cover or inside, but it still means that the older puppies who normally spend the three hours racing round the terrace will either have to stay at our Ap Lei Chau Homing Centre, where at least they can still be seen, or on Lamma, where they will miss yet another opportunity.

I have to accept that nothing can be done about the endless rain, but looking ahead there have to be changes made one way or another and indeed the seeds have already been planted, metaphorically speaking.  I will write more about that when the time comes because there is a lot of planning to be done, but at least it gives me something to work towards.

Someone's looking happy about his potential forever home.  Do you know who it is?

In the meantime I will start Sunday with hope for all of our dogs and puppies, and the knowledge that at least one will be leaving Tai Po for a trial to see how he gets on with the other dogs and cats in his potential forever home.