Fri 31st March: Puppies and more puppies

Sesame has been in foster almost all his life so far

It's not because I care about getting wet that I seem to be obsessed with the weather, it's more to do with puppies and Sunday afternoons at Whiskers N Paws and whether we can be outside.  So seeing that the forecast (if it can ever be believed) was for sun over the weekend was a huge relief.  There are so many puppies now, and every time I go to AFCD there are more waiting.  There's a limit to everything and we have certainly already run out of space, and the pressure to find homes weighs on my mind constantly.   Many of the puppies are now reaching five months of age, the time when they are licensed and formally registered in the AFCD system.  Wigbert, Rafi, Sesame and Dylan all came to us as babies and it's time for them to move on to forever homes.

Sweet Dylan and his butterfly nose

Rafi is such a cuddly boy

Following hard on their heels in terms of age are the big and beautiful "B" litter of Bruno, Bizzy, Boomer and Bonzo, with odd boy out Eric and they also all need homes.

Eric

Another one of the "B" litter - Bonzo?

Thurs 30th March: Puppies growing like weeds

I am being reminded of how fast puppies grow with lovely regular updates from the two sets of foster parents for the babies I took from AFCD a couple of weeks ago.  They were two weeks old then, eyes just opened and only able to drink milk from bottles.

Molly and Herbie

"Molly and Herbie have been growing fast, their weights increased from 1.8 kg and 1.3kg to 2.3 and 2 in a week. Herbie is catching up and eats like a machine. 

Both of they are settled in well, they started to sleep in their new bed, not the crate. Both are very active, running and jumping quickly. Molly likes to cuddle into sleep while Herbie is very adventurous."

Meanwhile, siblings Enzo and Lola are also enjoying life in their respective foster home, and clearly love their "mother". 

Enzo and Lola

If you can also help by fostering other puppies please let Cindy know as we always have some needing temporary care. As I mentioned yesterday there's yet another litter at AFCD now, not very young babies like the four mentioned above, but still very much in need of help.  Email foster@hongkongdogrescue.com if you are able to take in a pair, or a singleton if there are already other dogs at home. 

I was able to bring Biff back from hospital today, a relief for both of us I'm sure.  He wasn't responding at all to tick fever treatment so it can be assumed that wasn't the reason for his low red cell count and weight loss, and autoimmune disease is more likely.  At least the steroids he's now on have given him a good appetite and he seems happy enough. 

I'm eyeing up the weather forecast for the weekend, paying special attention to Sunday with Whiskers N Paws in mind.   We'll be there regardless of the rain or sun of course, but it's always nice for the puppies to be able to have fun running round the terrace. 

The puppies love Sundays!

Weds 29th March: Bent not broken

Not all rescue dogs are "damaged goods" that have health and/or behaviour issues.  Many come to us as puppies with a totally clean slate and no history to speak of, and what they become depends on their life after they arrive.  Those that are lucky enough to go straight into homes as still-young puppies will be influenced by their families, while those that stay with us a bit longer will have a different viewpoint on life.  We can at least know that there will be no abuse or bad treatment and the differences are usually only related to toilet training and so on. (Which reminds me, there is a new litter of five gorgeous babies at AFCD and we need foster homes PLEASE! Contact Cindy at foster@hongkongdogrescue.com if you can help).

Adult dogs of course have a history, but it doesn't always have to be a bad or sad one.  People give up dogs for all sorts of reasons, sometimes due to ill health on either side, often just because of a move to a new home or another country.  It has nothing to do with the dog's behaviour, only the lack of human commitment and caring.  Many people give up their dogs when a human baby arrives or is on the way, the newcomer replacing the four-legged one for no good reason other than the dog is no longer wanted.   Just read what Flanders new family have to say about him, remembering that he came to us as a young adult and has been staying at Tai Po Homing Centre for some time:

"We couldn't be happier with how Flanders is doing. He's really lovely and such a good boy. Happy, friendly, lovable, 100% house trained. And he enjoys our house a lot I think. He loves the garden, he loves to sniff things, and he loves seeing us in the morning or even if we just come from another room or come back from groceries".

Flanders (centre) is sweet and easy by nature

 

Corgi Adele has typical deep ear infection

Ex-breeder dogs ironically are often sweet natured but arrive with a host of health issues, many contagious like ringworm, scabies and ear mites.   None of these are life-threatening and all are easy to fix, but it does make finding homes more of a challenge.  The serious common problems are pyometra (infected uterus) and mammary tumours, both of which affect entire bitches, that is, female dogs that haven't been desexed.  Luxating patellas (slipping kneecaps) are very common in smaller dogs and they vary in grades of seriousness, and left untreated they will cripple the animal.  Many of these health problems are genetic, meaning they are passed down from mother to her puppies, and dogs like these should never be used for breeding.  Sadly not only are they, but mothers are mated with sons, daughters with fathers and so on, so both behaviour and health become inbred.

This shiba inu had the worst knees ever

Behaviour problems are far more difficult to deal with than health issues because there's no magic pill, and it requires time, patience and a willingness to understand why the dog is like and how to work through it.  We have small dogs with behaviour issues that range from mild to more deep-rooted, but I do believe that there are few that are real no-hopers.

I'm still hoping that someone will give young Maya a chance

We received this lovely update today from the adopter of pug Ivory, now Brie, and it just goes to show what a difference a few months can make, physically and mentally.  Too many expect dogs to immediately "gel" or connect, to instantly fit in an become a family member, but it takes time.

"When Brie first came home with us, a big patch of her chest hair was missing which was first thought to have been caused by allergies. She also suffered from major anxiety that revealed itself if different ways such as hyperventilating, pacing around non-stop like an expectant father and constantly licking her paws until they were raw.

The hyperventilating disappeared after the first two days and she paced less and less. We put socks on her so she couldn’t lick her paws and we switched her onto a healthy diet to improve her fur.

The great thing was that Brie came with basic training. She knew commands like sit, stay, up, paw and surprisingly even BANG! She was potty trained, but the new surroundings may have caused a bit of confusion for her. It took a bit longer for her to get adjusted. but accidents are now very rare".

"As you can see from our after photo, the bare patch on her chest is now completely filled out, and it turns out that stress, rather than allergies, was the culprit. Her fur is now also extremely soft and paws are all healed.

Brie now spends her retirement days enjoying food (with absolutely no discrimination), belly rubs, chasing after balls, going on walks or 5km runs, and bossing around her brother Baguette".

"No one can believe Brie is 10 because she has endless amounts of energy that seriously puts her two year old brother to shame.

Hopefully Brie’s story will encourage others to consider adopting older dogs. Not all of them have major health issues and those with minor issues just require a little love and care".

Tues 28th March: Reasons for choosing HKDR

The pups came wearing these "scarves"

I knew I had three very sweet slightly older puppies to take out of AFCD Pokfulam, and that they would be going to Tai Po rather than Lamma.  I have no space for any more, and anyway it's good to have a few puppies available at the big Homing Centre as well as the adults.  These three happy boys and girls are now called Zumba, Yoga and Potato, and you can meet them and their waggy tails if you are a Tai Po volunteer or a potential adopter.

Of course all three pups went to Acorn first to be checked and vaccinated, and I also took along the three newish ex-breeder dogs, Adele, Sizzle and Buffer.  Almost all breeder dogs have ear mites and/or infections and these were no exception, but at least they were heartworm-free and without serious illnesses, although Sizzle almost certainly has a thyroid deficiency causing hair loss and a "rat" tail.  It's not a big problem as thyroid supplements can easily sort that out and it will help him to lose weight too.

Wigbert has his eyes firmly on the treats

You all know we have a lot of puppies right now, and I know there is a huge choice for potential adopters.  Unwanted puppies are being born all the time and the likelihood is that a large percentage of them will never reach adulthood, and even if they do it will be as strays producing yet more litters.  It's a huge problem that doesn't seem to be getting any better,  and I have to turn away all of those who come to us having found puppies.  If anyone asks what they can do about it I say catch the mothers (or fathers) and desex them.  Picking up the puppies and thinking an organisation will take them in and they will be adopted isn't the answer, as the fact is everyone is overflowing with dogs that are lovely but unwanted.  There is and will always be a preference for "pure" breeds despite the fact that they often come with genetic health and behaviour problems. I don't understand it and never will, but the majority of adoption enquiries we receive are for named breeds only (and usually totally unsuitable too).

All we can do is to keep showing our sweet and beautiful mixed breed puppies and hope that they will be the lucky ones.  And why adopt from HKDR?  We think there are lots of good reasons, including the fact that we provide excellent post-adoption support from our trainer, Cactus Mok.

Mon 27th March: A late start

Pomeranian chihuahua Buffer, a tiny boy

The day started late as I had trouble finding a boat to take me over to Ap Lei Chau,  and by the time I made it (needing to drop puppy Opal off to go to a new foster home) there was only time to take the three new ex-breeder dogs to AFCD to get my ownership registered.  It was the first time I'd seen them other than their photos so I hadn't realised how small Buffer is, really a tiny little guy standing next to "spitz" Sizzle. Corgi girl Adele is very sweet, and it seems to me that the female version of this once-popular breed seem to have inherited the friendly gene while the male corgis share the grumpy one. (Volunteer photographer Marco Lam, a regular at Ap Lei Chau and Whiskers N Paws, took these lovely shots).

By the time I left AFCD it was too late to take the dogs to Acorn so they'll have to wait until Tuesday. Anyone interested in adopting please complete the questionnaire on our website www.hongkongdogrescue.com (under Adopt) or contact Cindy at foster@hongkongdogrescue.com for foster enquiries.   All three of these dogs are five years old.

Sizzle the "spitz"

Sweet Adele

Its been a while since our last sale (of products, not dogs) so we're happy to announce that we have one coming up soon,  8th and 9th April, at Wow Pet Shop.   Please mark in your diaries and come along to buy, and support.

Flanders is a lucky and happy boy

We've had some lovely updates about sweet Flanders whose really enjoying his new life on Lantau, but there have been very sad losses too.

I was particularly upset to receive the news that adorable Tuffy, renamed Sai by his family, had died as a result of heartworm.  He was a young dog, the most beautiful and gorgeous little boy, and his family are devastated, just as I am.  It seems so unfair that this should happen to such a perfect pet, and it really drives home the importance of heartworm prevention.  Tuffy-Sai was found as a stray in the New Territories and although young his lungs had already been affected by the heavy worm burden in his heart.

Tuffy was my personal dream dog

We also lost one of the four senior poms that came not long ago from AFCD.  Poor Pammy died after having breathing problems late on Sunday, and we can only hope she didn't suffer.

Poor little Pammy left us on Sunday

Sun 26th March: An emotional separation

Sisters Opal and Emerald

It's hard, if not impossible, not to get emotionally involved with the dogs and puppies that I have rescued and, initially at least, brought back to Lamma in the hope that they will quickly move to foster homes or be adopted.  Fostering is something that almost all rescue organisations rely on to help cope with the number of animals that come in, but also because it gives them a much nicer environment to stay in while they are waiting to move to permanent families.  We can also learn a lot about the behaviour and personality of our dogs and puppies from their foster parents, and when it's time for them to move to new homes the transition is so much easier.  However there's a downside to everything, and for the puppies who have been in foster and are then returned before they find real homes, it's very tough.

Right now I'm thinking in particular about a litter of five who were with their mother at AFCD and who went straight to foster homes when I took them away when they were a month old. Tiana and Belle were together until Belle was adopted the other weekend, and the other three started off staying together before being split into Opal and Emerald as a pair, and Chestnut.  Subsequently Opal moved to a new foster home but today, having failed to find adopters, Opal and Chestnut were handed back. These two pups have been in homes since they left their mother several weeks ago, and of course it's traumatic for them to suddenly find themselves back on Lamma and living outside with a large number of other puppies. They don't understand what has happened or why, and as I was having to try and force them into crates at the end of the afternoon and they were struggling and crying, it was very difficult for me too.

With Jill's adoption, only Tom is left

I felt bad for Tom too, also returned from his foster home and the only one from his litter not adopted yet.  His sister Jill had her adoption confirmed today, while siblings Jack and Rupert were last week's lucky pups.

Fergus with his new harness and family

There were two bright spots in the afternoon on top of the adoptions of Jill and little Fergus, another lucky boy, with double birthday donations via Two Presents.  The first was from Tyl and the second from Claire, and I would like to say a huge thank you to both for sharing their special day with the HKDR puppies.

Thank you Tyl for sharing your birthday

Sweet Claire also shared her birthday vai Two Presents

All in all, March has been an inexplicably slow month for puppy adoptions, so I would like to remind everyone that there are puppies staying at our Ap Lei Chau Homing Centre that can be seen every day of the week, as well as a few at Tai Po, which is also open for adoptions every day of the week and year.  In fact the last of the three Stanley Barracks puppies who went to Tai Po has now left (that's Dougal) and new girl Lambie was formally adopted today at  Pokfulam AFCD where she had to go to have her fallen-out microchip replaced.

If you are interested in adopting a puppy just take a look through the photos of today's Whiskers N Paws afternoon (with thanks to new volunteer photographer Helen Kwok), and let us know which puppy/puppies you would like to meet.

Puppy Adoption Day 26 March 2017 — at Whiskers N Paws

Lambie went home after her microchip was replaced

Sat 25th March: Good luck Flanders!

The weather forecast was (happily) completely wrong for today, and hopefully Sunday's threatened heavy rain will also stay away (having just written that it started to rain).  Regardless we will be at Whiskers N Paws for the puppy afternoon, and inside if we have to be.  I have too many gorgeous pups who need homes, and nothing but a Signal 8 typhoon would keep me away.

The puppy at the back already has a home

One of the new puppies that arrived only yesterday and was sent to Tai Po has been incredibly lucky and has already been chosen for adoption.  She will be picked up on Sunday so there's no photo to show yet, but she's a very cute fluffy girl.

Flanders at Whiskers N Paws

Sweet Flanders was also finally given a chance, and he has left the Homing Centre for a week's trial. He's gone to Lantau where he has already been introduced to the delights of the local buffalo poo, something I think all the local dogs enjoy rolling in.

I missed having my day off today as I had to take Biff back to Acorn for scanning and a blood transfusion, with Diamond as the donor.  I'd been concerned there was something other than tick fever going on with Biff although the scans thankfully revealed nothing ominous, even though tick fever in itself is no laughing matter. Unfortunately however,  Diamond turned out to be a poor candidate  as they were only able to squeeze half a bag out of her before she "dried up", meaning another Tai Po dog will probably have to be sent on Sunday to finish the job and poor Biff had to stay at the clinic when I picked Diamond up at the end of the afternoon.

There's been lots of interest in Peanut, but she's a dog that needs a lot of exercise

Peanut finally left the Ap Lei Chau Homing Centre for a trial adoption, but other than that it was a bad day for the small dogs who seemed to be showing various signs of being unwell in one way or another.  To top it all I noticed that my Murphy was licking his paw a lot and on inspection saw that he had an infected toe, something which can be very hard to treat.   Unfortunately while Murphy loves being shaved and even having his face hair trimmed, he refuses to let me touch his feet so he tends to have big fluffy "slippers" which hide his toes.  Shaving his legs is going to be a job for Iris I suspect.

Fri 24th March: No shortage of small dogs or puppies

Dashboard poodle

After having written not that long ago that we were seeing very few smaller dogs coming in, I can now scrub that statement completely and change it to "we have a large number of small dogs arriving on an almost daily basis."  Just today I got a new two year-old poodle from AFCD in Pokfulam, now called Jolly (as well as three totally adorable new puppies), and he stood on my lap with his head lying flat on the dashboard as we drove along.

Jolly regular view

I should mention that although our regular driver is still off work, our previous driver Hing, now retired, agreed to help out for the day and first thing in the morning he had gone to Shatin AFCD to pick up an older schnauzer, as well as two further puppies, both of whom were sent to Tai Po as they were just that bit older than my Lamma youngsters.

Two happy pups now at Tai Po

Patrick 11 years boy

Chihuahua/pom Buffer

After I had been to AFCD and Acorn with all of the new dogs, including my Lamma boy Biff, who worryingly isn't improving, another group of small dogs arrived at Ap Lei Chau, this time from a breeder.  There's a young corgi girl, Adele, a pom/chihuahua type, Buffer and another mix that looks like a bit of spitz and who-knows-what. His name is sizzle, age five years.   We need homes or fosters please!

Adele the corgi girl

Pom or spitz cross Sizzle

Thurs 23rd March: A rare outing for Biff

Biff and Buffy, beautiful and inseparable

We're still without a van and that's making life very difficult, especially when one of my big Lamma dogs needed to see a vet as a matter of urgency.  I'd been noticing blood on soft bedding for a while but hadn't been able to identify which dog it was coming from until today, when I saw that Biff's nose was bleeding as he put his head down to drink.  Although not a good thing in itself, the fact that Biff had lost a lot of weight and was feeling quite weak worked in my favour because he's a big dog and normally very timid, but he was quite compliant when being picked up and put in a crate for the trip to Acorn.

One, Two and Three as babies

As I was going over anyway I added puppy Two, due her third and final vaccination.  She's a gorgeous little girl, very bright and friendly and looking very much like a black pug in shape and size. She'll be at Whiskers N Paws on Sunday and I can highly recommend her to anyone looking for a smaller sized mixed breed, well medium sized at most.

Dr Tony was the only vet on duty at Acorn, and as luck would have it there were a few emergency cases to be dealt with so it was a long afternoon.  As suspected, Biff has tick fever and a very low red cell count, and it's a complete mystery to me how he got it.  Not only are my dogs all given tick (and heartworm) prevention and I rarely see any ticks at all, bit being so timid Biff has refused to go further than the garden since he was a puppy.  His sister, Buffy, is bolder and likes to go out for walks or to the beach, the only time the two of them are separated.  They are so close you never see them apart normally.  Anyway I will have to go back again with Biff on Friday for the second round of treatment and I hope he responds well.

Simon looks happy now

Tiny Simon the teacup Yorkie left the Homing Centre for a short trial to see how he and the resident Yorkie get on, and so far so good.  I also got a lovely update and photo on schnauzer cross Otto, who looks so beautiful after his haircut.

Otto looks like an Easter Bunny

There are so many dogs of all sizes and ages waiting for homes, including these lovely Ap Lei Chau residents (photos by volunteer Harryn).

Ap Lei Chau residents

Weds 22nd March: Keeping up and the importance of education

We all love getting updates on our ex-HKDR dogs, no matter how long ago the adoptions took place. Sometimes it's sad news of a death but even then it reminds me of the happy years that particular dog had, and what could have been if he or she hadn't been rescued.

Wobbly in foster in January this year

There was one update today that was especially good to read because this tiny little teacup Yorkie had come to us from a breeder not too long ago, and he wasn't expected to survive for long because he had "axial subluxation" meaning his spine and skull weren't fully attached.  We called him Wobbly because his head wobbled around, and while we looked at all possible options including surgery and a body wrap, there wasn't really much that could be done.  It was remarkable that not only was this little boy adopted but he even made the journey to England where he now lives quite happily, even though still wobbling.

Another dog that was adopted from us as a puppy eleven years ago is in need of a new home due to unfortunate circumstances:

Can you adopt Kaya?

Urgent appeal on behalf of Kaya, adopted from HKDR as a baby puppy 11 years ago. Can anyone give a home to this lovely lady in need?

"Good Morning. I would like to enquire how i can surrender my dog, she was adopted from your center some 11 years ago, she's a very gentle and adorable dog which i'm very reluctant to let her go, unfortunately, my wife passed away some three years ago and i have been looking after her, due to my new work which i have to be in China most of time i have to make that decision to surrender her."

An older dog like Kaya is ideal for a home that doesn't have the time for long walks, or for those who can't commit to a 15+ years of a dog's life.

Please complete the adoption questionnaire on our website www.hongkongdogrescue.com (under Adopt) if you can help.

Thanks to Cecilia and Eugenia for volunteering

I like to talk about adoptions, but of course there are lots of other important things going on such as fundraising and education.  Cactus is in charge of both training and education, and with so much on her plate we needed to recruit additional volunteers to help with school talks. Today it was the turn of Cecilia and Eugenia to assist in hosting a talk at the Ming Wai International Kindergarten, and it was a great success.   If you are interested in volunteering on the educational aspect of HKDR, or hosting a talk at your school,  please contact Cactus at education@hongkongdogrescue.com or check out this link

http://hongkongdogrescue.com/education-tr…/public-education/

Listen up children