Weds 27th April: What kind of psychopath does this?

This beautiful dog is about to be dumped by his family

I hear the strangest and saddest stories doing this work, and that's on top of the routine surrender requests that come in almost every day and which in themselves are depressing enough. Today I was told about a six year-old Alaskan malamute that was being left behind by his family, and he is just one of far too many whose lives and loyalty count for absolutely nothing in the end.  Knowing the way my own dogs rely on me for everything, from food and walks to love and security, it is just heartbreaking every time I read one of these emails.  They inevitably include some facts about how lovely the dog is and how hard the decision was to give it up, but no mention of how traumatic it will be for the animal itself or even how an already over-stretched organisation is supposed to be able to cope with yet another unwanted pet.  Somehow that never seems to come into the equation.

Minky and Rag are just two of the dogs that live with me and I would never dream of betraying their trust.

What kind of psychopath does this to a dog?

However the malamute isn't the strange and sad story I was referring to, this one is about a dog that had been abandoned on the street, muzzled and strapped into a buggy.  You can just about see from the photo that the dog's mouth is clamped shut by the muzzle, and I was told it was there for ten hours before being picked up and sent to AFCD. Seriously, what kind of person thinks that this is an acceptable thing to do?  I'm following up on the case and I hope I'll have some more details about the dog by tomorrow.

Of course I know that there are also many people who love their dogs and look after them as if they were their children, and I need to keep reminding myself of that fact. The following workshop information is aimed at such dog-loving families:

Workshop host Shireen has been working with essential oils and animals for a very long time and really knows her stuff

If you are interested in learning about how animals can benefit from aromatherapy you can find out by joining our Pet Aromatherapy Workshop which is taking place on Saturday 7th May (starting at 10am) at Autotoll Limited, 11/F, Tower A, Billion Centre, 1 Wang Kwong Road, Kowloon Bay

The workshop is hosted by Shireen Sonja Calucin MIFPA, NAHA, who has been working with essential oils and animals (as well as humans) for many years.  

Content includes how to use essential oils confidently and safely on your dog or cat:
- The benefits of using essential oils on your animal
- Essential oil Safety
- Introduction to useful essential oils for: Common skin problems, trauma/fear
- Demonstration on how to blend

Available on VGo - Member Price HK$380 Non-member Price HK$399

This workshop is jointly organised by HKDR andAutotoll Club. All registrations will be made via the phone app "VGo". Here are the instructions on how you can get started if you don't already have one installed.

1. Download VGo on App Store & Google Play

2. Register VGo account
(i) with Autotoll account; (ii) with email address

3. Complete registration

4. Activate VGo account with activation email

5. Sign up for the workshop on the VShop!