Thur 16th June: What's in a name

Tony is no more than 8 weeks old

There was a last-minute chance of plans for today as I made another trip out to the New Territories instead of the intended vet visit, and also needed to pick up a puppy I'd offered to take after seeing him on Facebook.   I'd been browsing through new posts and this little fellow caught my eye when I saw that he was in need of a home, although to be honest I had thought looked as though he was going to be a small-sized adult.  On meeting him I decided that he is a chow chow cross who has been shaved, leaving one bushy "eyebrow", big fat paws and a tuft of thick fur at the end of his tail. He is the funniest/cutest-looking puppy and I suspect he'll be someone's adopted baby before too long.  I hope so anyway, and I'll find out on Sunday when Tony (the vet nurses at Acorn thought he bore a resemblance to vet Tony) makes his debut.

The reason I took this puppy in when I already have so many needing homes is because, as I mentioned, I thought he looked as though he would be a smaller-sized adult and almost all of the puppy enquiries I receive are for small or small-medium sized dogs.  We have no way or knowing or guaranteeing the eventual full size of any mixed breed puppy, and while we can try and make a guess it can sometimes be completely wrong.   Puppies don't stop growing until they are a year old, or even eighteen months if they are giant-sized, and there can be a last-minute spurt when it's assumed the dog has already reached its full size.

Bomber, the young Boston terrier(ish) is still waiting for the right home

So as advance notice that we may, and I have to reiterate that it's not absolutely confirmed at this point, be getting a poodle and a Jack Russell puppy in by the weekend, if anyone is interested you can submit the adoption questionnaire now.  I know we will be inundated with adoption requests but I also know that not all of them will be suitable.  When I posted details of the Boston terrier (cross) there was an enormous amount of interest, but the words "extremely energetic" and "not good with other dogs" had been ignored, so Bomber is still with us.

The potential poodle and Jack Russell puppies are not babies, but are already eight to nine months old and they have lived in cages.  That means that they will not be toilet trained, and it may take some time to change that.  They probably won't have a clue about living a normal life, and by that I mean going out for long walks and doing all of the things that all dogs should do. We will only consider potential homes that can offer everything these dogs need to have a happy and fulfilling life, and for the Jack Russell especially that means a lot of exercise.

Chewy is such a lovely girl

People often comment on the names I give the dogs, and ask how I come up with some of the more unusual ones.  Sometimes a name immediately springs to mind when I see a dog, whereas other times there's just a blank (and that's why one of my six year-old Lamma dogs is still called Puppy Girl).  It doesn't happen very often,  in fact it's extremely rare, but I had cause to ask a potential adopter not to contact us again after having wasted our time on more than one occasion, and having let us down badly after withdrawing an offer of a foster home at the last minute.  I mention this only because one of the reasons given for not taking Chewy, our very sweet and lovely almost-German shepherd, was because of her name,  Working on that basis, it could be the reason Bomber hasn't been homed yet, because who knows what mischief he could get up to.

Hans needs an immediate foster

Due to the last-minute let-down, dachshund Hans is now urgently in need of a foster home after successful surgery on his spine.  He is desperate for affection and attention even if he has to be kept quiet until he's fully healed.  If you can give Hans a short-term place to stay please contact Cindy at foster@hongkongdogrescue.com.