Weds 25th May: Calypso's amazing story

Young Calypso in 2006

On Monday, September 24, 2007 I wrote this message to the HKDR Volunteers, something I used to do in my pre-blog days.  We were based in Pokfulam then, in wonderful purpose-built kennels, until May 2010 when we moved to our current Tai Po Homing Centre.  There is a reason for me sharing this old news which I will explain afterwards, but you will see that nothing much has changed other than the location, with the same mix of adoptions, returns and dogs lost and found, or not.

Hi All,

The big news, already mentioned in the volunteer schedule, is that Pokkie is back.  She came to the back fence and was trying to get in, so while Marie kept her busy with chicken, Ivy hooked her leash with a coat hanger to make sure she didn't run off, and Alice slipped through a gap in the fence near the front gate, went round the back and got Pokkie.  She is thin but otherwise in good health, and she was very happy to see all her friends again.

We have seen a few dogs go, but also new arrivals and the always disappointing returns. Pops, the old golden retriever, only stayed a night in his new home, but then he does have the rather un-gentlemanly habit of peeing (a lot) inside.  Otherwise he is like a puppy, despite his age, and I wonder if we can teach him to pee where he is supposed to.

Little cocker spaniel, Tammy, was returned without notice yesterday.  She is an adorable little dog.  Nelson the shih tzu also came back, apparently for biting, but nobody has ever experienced this behaviour at kennels.  I always wonder what happens in the home they go to which turns a sweet dog into a biting dog.

A 5-month labrador puppy was surrendered "for biting"!  How stupid people can be. All puppies bite, and this lovely pup still has his sharp baby teeth.  Mind you, I don't think it's a "real" labrador, but a pet shop special, that is, looks like a labrador but isn't really.  If people are stupid enough to buy these puppies, then they are stupid enough not to know that puppies bite.

A new American cocker spaniel, Cadet, replaced Jonas who was adopted on Saturday.  Cadet was in AFCD in such a shocking condition, that it took 3 volunteers to get rid of the thick matted hair on his body.  Sammy, Susan and I worked for hours in the afternoon to cut away the solid lumps and clumps, and the skin underneath was literally being pulled off by the weight of the hair.  The poor dog was in great pain, as well as not being able to walk because of the masses of matted hair, and the fact that his nails had grown round and were digging into his pads.  He also has a visible eye ulcer, so how this poor dog suffered in unimaginable.  He is only 1 year old.

Some other very exciting news is that Shelly - yes, Shelly, the dog that barks and is afraid of everyone - will go to a new home soon.  Luckily the adopter, who already has two dogs from HKDR, is being guided by Shan, who was the original foster of "The Stripeys", so she knows Shelly and Shelly remembers Shan.  My biggest fear is that Shelly will run away, just like Calypso did, so I have asked the adopter to make sure that she is never outside without being on a leash until she has settled.  I think the plan is that the adopter will come and get to know Shelly before taking her home.

We have some new T-shirts that are a bit smarter than our other HKDR T-shirts, and we gave them a trial run on Friday evening at Stauntons, where a group of us met up for sundowners (evening drinks).  Bumpy and Fuzzy came along too, and Fuzzy even went for a sleepover with her old kennels mate, Flicka, but sadly Flicka didn't appreciate having to share her man so Fuzzy came back. Poor Fuzzy.

Some more good news, Bumpy and Mari have a home together and will go on Tuesday. These are two of my favourite puppies so I am delighted.

I mentioned Calypso here, a young dog who went to a foster home in Chung Hom Kok in 2006 and quickly disappeared from the garden.  Despite many visits to the area and days spent searching, Calypso was never seen again and was eventually assumed to be dead.

Has someone been taking care of Calypso for all these years?

This morning I got a message from AFCD letting me know that there was an old dog that had been picked up in Redhill, Tai Tam, and although reported as lost in 2006 she was still microchipped in my name. They sent a photo of the dog, and when I saw it I immediately knew it was Calypso, even though she had obviously aged a lot in the intervening years.  As it was my day off I asked Kathy (in the office) to arrange for Calypso to be picked up immediately, but on being told that she (Calypso) was unable to walk or even move the best I could do was to send her to Acorn to be euthanised.  They confirmed that Calypso was indeed completely immobile, so her life was gently ended.

I'm sorry I didn't get to see her or that she was in a condition that meant there was no alternative to her being put to sleep, because what a story she could have told.  That she lived as a stray for ten years is amazing enough in itself, and from the photos she seemed to be quite well fed.  Maybe someone living in the Redhill area could throw some light on the story and tell us more about Calypso and how she survived for so long, and what happened in the end that made her unable to walk.

It gives hope to all of those who have lost dogs and who have been unable to let go of the hope that one day they may be found.  Everything is possible it seems. 

Becky is safely back home thanks once again to our team of volunteers

At least runaway Becky didn't spend more than one night away, and as expected once she had been spotted several times close to her new home she is already back, safe and sound.
Thank once again to our volunteers Sue, Jacklyn and Xanthe for giving up their time to help with the search.