Weds 19th Oct: Please foster a dog during the typhoon

Stranded!

What can I say about today other than wow!  The rain!  With another typhoon following on Friday, I made a dash across to Ap Lei Chau to sign cheques and Positive Partner certificates, check in on the dogs at the Homing Centre and then do some food shopping in preparation for the next enforced home stay.  That was when the rain turned from Red to Black and I was trudging from Aberdeen to the sampan with a huge load of shopping on my back and in my arms.  At least I wasn't one of the passengers stranded in buses and cars as the water level rose to a few feet in a matter of minutes, and I was very lucky that I didn't have to wait too long for a boat to take me home.  I think this was a day that a lot of people will remember, but worse may still lie ahead.

Perry is just a small guy, and very miserable right now

Going back to the Ap Lei Chau dogs, it was very sad to see Perry and how he has gone downhill so quickly.  I don't know if the fact that at nine years old he has suddenly become homeless is making him appear so depressed, or if the disease that he has has accelerated suddenly, but he is a completely different character to the one I saw when he first arrived.  At that time he seemed to be cheerful and quite normal other than the fact that he drank a lot and peed the equivalent.  There's no actual treatment available, just a lot of supplements to help his condition, and home-cooked food is the only thing he will eat.  Perry is such a sweet dog and we are desperate to send him to a foster home so he can at least enjoy individual care and cuddles, as well as seeing if being away from so many other dogs makes a difference to his state of mind.  If anyone can help please contact Cindy at foster@hongkongdogrescue.com.

Alexander is another (large) dog that really urgently needs a short-term bad weather foster home, as he is currently at Acorn having lost a huge amount of weight and all of his appetite.  We still don't know what's wrong with him but getting some food inside is a priority, and a feeding tube was inserted to achieve that.  He needs to be fed via the tube five times a day, and is a very easy and willing patient. It's not difficult to do, but with the potential T10 looming which would mean closure of Acorn, we can't leave Alexander there.

Marsha is just one of our many sweethearts

Tai Po was very badly affected by the heavy downpours and the planned renovation can't happen soon enough.  After six years of being at the site it's really time to re-build rather than just patch up, and I want to get the ball rolling as soon as possible.  After the rebuilding work has taken place we will need an on-site Maintenance Manager to keep everything in good repair, but that's looking ahead.  For now the main house and the dog enclosures are in a state of disrepair and we are very worried about the dogs should this predicted severe typhoon come as close to Hong Kong as expected.  We need to move as many dogs out as possible so those that stay behind can have good shelter (assuming everything doesn't get blown away).

Please, if you can house a dog for even just a couple of days, take one (or two).  There are so many very easy characters at Tai Po that will be no trouble, and we really don't want any dogs to get hurt.