Tues 13th Sept: Finding your other half

Find Your Other Half

A lot of people seemed to think that the image I posted on our Hong Kong Dog Rescue (HKDR) Facebook page today was a very clever adoption photo.  In fact it's an advertisement that was created by a team from J Walter Thompson Hong Kong, a name you may well recognise as being one of the most famous advertising agencies worldwide.  We were approached by them asking if we would like to work together, the answer being an obvious yes please and the first result being this.  Watch out for more creative work in the near future.

The word creative was particularly applicable today as volunteer videographer Ted was following me round as I did what I had to do, starting with coming to Lamma to film the daily rush of dogs out of the front gate and down to the beach as I left home to start my day.  This is now such an established routine that if I open the gate at any other time the dogs make no attempt to go out, and even if I invite them out for whatever reason, like perhaps an extra walk, they won't move.  They know exactly when their play time is and that's that.

I was meeting the last of the breeder schnauzers at AFCD to get the license updated, and this particular one is Heidi, a very sweet little dog.  She is available for adoption and her foster says she is still very puppy-like despite being five years old and having been used for breeding. If you are interested, please contact Foster Coordinator Cindy at foster@hongkongdogrescue.com.

Very sweet Heidi

There was a dog that had been at AFCD for some time, another one of these cases where nobody is really quite sure what the procedure is or should be so in the meantime the dog is kept in limbo.  When he, the dog, first appeared I was told his owner was coming to pick him up, something I'm always happy to hear.  Time passed and the dog was still there every time I visited, and it seemed that contact had been lost with the person who had said he was the owner but still they were holding onto the dog in case this mystery man turned up one day.  I asked how long they were going to wait while at the same time I was being asked when I was going to take the dog, and when the same happened again today I finally spoke to the vet who agreed that they had waited long enough.  All this time I had assumed that the dog was licensed in the claimant's name but it turned out not to be the case and there was no microchip and no registered owner, so why the poor dog had to be held for so many weeks is as much a mystery as who and where the "owner" is.

Al on his way to Acorn 

Anyway today was Al's big day, although as with so many dogs who have spent a long time in their kennel it becomes their safe place, their home, and they are reluctant to leave.  It took some persuading to get Al to walk across the forecourt so he could be microchipped and rabies vaccinated, but he was very sweet natured about it all and didn't complain once.

The next stop was Acorn of course, and Al waited patiently for his turn to see the vet, and then allowed Dr Andy to do everything necessary, like taking blood and listening to his heart.  Not every new dog is as placid, and who can blame them when they are being handled by total strangers, and it's a very good indication of a dog's nature when it stands quietly and without reacting.

While Ted and I were at Acorn, new driver Ray was sent off to collect the donation of assorted wine that needed to be picked up, joined by long-term volunteer-turned staff member Sidney, so the van was pretty packed by the time we had finished and were on our way home. Al was on the back seat between myself and Sidney, and being obviously quite tired from the stress of the day laid his head on Sidney's knees and closed his eyes.  This is a lovely young dog with a heart of gold, and I do hope someone notices him soon.