Sat 30th June: Ansheles and the Pet Expo

HKDR volunteer and adopter Phoebe with Ansheles today

Whatever is happening in terms of adoption and the dogs, there is always a lot going on behind the scenes as we plan events and promotions, the day-to-day running of the charity as well as future objectives. 

The Pet Expo ends on Sunday

This weekend's activities at the Pet Expo and the pop-up stand at Causeway Bay to launch the Ansheles T-shirts have been in the planning for some time, and of course there are the two big annual fundraisers already well underway, the "Sarge'n'Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club" Gala Dinner on Saturday 13th October, and Peak to Fong in November. 

Taking in hundreds of new dogs and puppies every year and looking after them until they find homes doesn't happen by itself,  and it's the office team who are responsible for keeping the admin and funding side of things going, as well as the education and training programmes.

Tickets are already available for the Sarge'n'Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Gala

Iris and Andrea are in charge of the Ap Lei Chau Homing Centre, while May is the Manager at Tai Po, supported by an incredibly hard-working and dedicated team, plus the volunteers of course.  I only spent a short time outside today as the heat was overwhelming, so I can't thank the Tai Po crew enough, or underestimate the toughness of the job.  It's not even as though the site is on flat ground, as there are many steep steps to climb to get to the dogs and their enclosures, and if anyone wants to lose some weight for free you can just become a Tai Po volunteer!

I'll be sweating it out on the terrace at Whiskers N Paws on Sunday along with the other volunteers,  and the puppies of course, so please come by to meet everyone.  This is the only location and time when all children are welcome to spend time with the puppies, as for safety reasons we can't allow play-and-petting sessions at our Homing Centres.  See you there!

Fri 29th June: Pet Expo and new beginnings

Alison and Jersey have their own garden (and a house of course)

Not only are Alison and Jersey now safely in their lovely new Canadian home (look at that grass!), but after posting the news of their adoption and flight out of Hong Kong on our Facebook page, there were a couple of lovely updates in the comments.  One of them was about Chance, the three-legged dog who was rescued from AFCD and whose timing coincided with that of a Canadian couple who were in Hong Kong and met him, and the rest is history.

Ellie has her own lovely garden in the UK

Chance is looking good and doing great

Also in the comments was a photo of Ellie, Alison and Jersey's sister, the only one of the litter adopted as a puppy and now living in the UK.  Of the boys, Felix is still at Tai Po while Jinx stayed with me on Lamma, and is of course still very much part of my large dog family.

It was the first day of the Pet Expo today, and thanks to the team of volunteers who signed up to help man our HKDR stand.  It's going to get very busy over the weekend as it always does, so please remember to come and see us.

The volunteers are ready for the crowds

Thurs 28th June: Talking of airports

I'd been waiting for a long time to take a little poodle girl out of AFCD as once again the case was complicated.  This dog had been found wandering round the airport, and the registered owner contacted.  The license was up to date so there was no problem there, but the owner didn't turn up to claim the poodle and subsequently disappeared with no further contact possible.  Eventually the poodle was approved for re-homing and I picked her up today and took her straight to Acorn for a health check.  Having spent a long time at AFCD kennels, where to give the staff their due they had done their best to keep her clean and groomed, and apart from ear mites everything seemed fine. "Airport" is now available for adoption, and at seven years old is still relatively young. 

Goodbye Alison and Jersey, and have a safe flight

On the subject of airports, I'm jumping ahead of myself but I'm so happy to share the photo of Alison and Jersey getting ready for their flight to Canada, with the third dog Sander lined up to follow soon.  The wait has been a long one but worth it now that the time has finally arrived, and I want to thank the adopter for this wonderful opportunity for "my" girls.

The plight of the Macau greyhounds has been getting a lot of media coverage, but sadly so far there's a stalemate situation which you can read about here: https://www.facebook.com/savethemacaugreyhounds/

It's frustrating not to be able to do anything unless the way is opened for the dogs to come to Hong Kong without the need for quarantine, or some arranegment made for them to stay in private kennels or whatever it takes.  The fact is that the rabies vaccination is very effective at preventing any chance of rabies infection and the dogs can be tested for antibodies to the disease, as well as the fact that their while miserable lives have been spent at the Canidrome anyway.  There is absolytely zero chance that these greyhounds have been in contact with the rabies virus, let alone be infected.  It's just paperwork and mindless rules.

These 5 puppies have all come back from their foster homes

The litter of five baby pups taken from AFCD on 12th June and estimated to be a month old at the time have all been returned from their respective foster homes, so we are in need of new temporary homes until the pups are old enough to have their first vaccinations and be ready for adoption at eight weeks.  If you can help by fostering a pair, please let Cindy know by emailing foster@hongkongdogrescue.com, and all food and other necessities will be provided.

Weds 27th June: Coming up this weekend

Have you seen our latest T-shirt design?

We'll be at the Pet Expo this coming (long) weekend (Friday 29th June to Sunday 1st July) so please come and see us at the HK Convention & Exhibition Centre if you're in the area.  We'll have lots of our own-brand merchandise for sale, as well as a special low price for Stella & Chewy's food, which I don't mind saying is my Murphy's all-time favourite.  Even better, all profits from the sale of Stella & Chewy's will be donated to HKDR so get along and buy while stocks last.

***HKDR攤位編號Booth no.：K27 ***

Check out the good deals at HKDR's Charity Sale Booth in 優質寵物用品展 Premium Pet Supplies Expo from 29June to 1July! A big variety of Stella & Chewy's freeze dried raw food will be available at low prices, with all profits going to HKDR. Thank you Stella GoRaw for their generous sponsorship! 

As always, both of our Homing Centres are open every day, regardless of holidays or the weather, and we'll be at Whiskers N Paws on Sunday with the puppies, from 2pm until 5pm.  

Regarding the six hundred-plus Macau greyhounds and the closure of the Canidrome there, if you are interested in adopting one of the dogs please contact Anima (in Macau) as a first step.  The problem with all countries is the quarantine requirement, and not only the cost but the available kennel space.  There is a huge shortage of quarantine kennels in Hong Kong even under normal circumstances, but with so many greyhounds the problem is even worse.  You can follow the latest news on the situation on the Anima Macau Facebook, including this: page http://www.macaubusiness.com/macau-anima-submits-650-adoption-forms-to-save-canidrome-greyhounds/

Also on Saturday 30th June we'll have a street stall outside the Causeway Bay MTR station Exit E from 1pm to 8pm, where we'll be launching a new T-shirt designed by well- known Russian TV host Ansheles, who will also be volunteering at the stall (for all you young fans!)

Tues 26th June: 3 puppies and a photoshoot

Carlo being a catalogue model

Apart from taking Lamma dogs to AFCD for their rabies vaccination updates, which are due every three years, there wasn't much on my agenda for the day, but one important job was to have Tai Po dog Sander's ownership changed.  It was an urgent matter as Sander will be flying to Canada along with two other Tai Po dogs, sisters Alison and Jersey.  I call these sisters "my girls" because like many Tai Po dogs they started life as puppies on Lamma and only moved to the big Homing Centre when they were older.  They have never forgotten me, and although my visits to Tai Po are too rare I always get an incredible greeting when they see me approach.  It's always made me feel both happy and sad seeing these lovely dogs still waiting for a home, so you can imagine how thrilled I am that they will soon be on their way to a new life in Canada.

Alison and Jersey are spending their last few days at Tai Po

Baby Alison and brother Felix (also still at Tai Po)

Three puppies spent the afternoon at a photoshoot in Horizon Plaza at a shop called Bowerbird, and all of them - Lottie, Carlo and Bertie - behaved like the superstars they are. I'm looking forward to seeing the chosen shots for the store promotion, but here's two of the puppies enjoying a break:

Carlo and Bertie during a break

Softie Sidney

Tai Po puppy Sidney is about to return to the Homing Centre after having spent some time in a foster home following surgery on his eyelids.  This is what his foster parent said about him, and I really hope he will be one of the lucky ones soon:
Just a quick update about Sidney before we return him to the Tai Po Homing Centre tomorrow.

We feel that Sidney has made a big step forward with your advice and after his eyelid surgery. Maybe without the irritation of his eyes and can see better. He is now happy and jolly at home. Walk on leash is progressing very slowly. He walks really well at home and can go down two staircases and that's a big milesstone for him. However, he still gets very nervous on unfamiliazed environment and people. He will pee and poo when he gets very nervous. Therefore, we totally agree that the Homing Centre can give him much more exposure to people and dog friends for socialisation.

We are grateful to have had Sidney with us for the past two months. He is such a sweet little guy despite his large size. He was very shy and didn't show much interest in things when he first came to our home. (now we know he was very nervous in the new environment).  However, after given a bit of time and patience, we get enormous reward in return. We play fetching of toys and ball, he enjoys staying by our side watching us get busy, we get the most tender kisses from him in the morning and at night....... We would like to give our best wishes that Sidney will find his forever home soon.

Mon 25th June: Carla and Buzzy

Carla is settling in her new home

Today seemed to be a continuation of Sunday's puppy afternoon as Carla was taken home from Whiskers N Paws where she's been staying for a short time, and her brother Carlo took her spot.  He and Lottie will now benefit from the training that all of the previous now-adopted puppies had, and we have to thank Whiskers N Paws for offering both the space and the hands-on help given to make the puppies so homeable.

Buzzy and her lucky adopters

At Tai Po it was Buzzy's going-home day, while another older puppy, Cello, had a very positive interview at the Ap Lei Chau Homing Centre which we really hope will end as an adoption.  Cello has waited a very long time and has seen all of her seven brothers and sisters find their own families, so it's really time she got lucky too.

Cello has seen all her friends leave too, like Willy on Sunday

Beatrice and Eugenie were two from Cello's litter

Over the weekend we hosted a wonderful workshop by Melissa Tan teaching watercolour painting.

Thank you talented Paintinks by melt for hosting this wonderful painting workshop yesterday to raise funds for HKDR! Huge thanks to Dog Cheers - Dog Hotel, Grooming & Party too for sponsoring the venue!

The participants all went home with a lovely painting...😄

Sun 24th June: One lucky litter - and Willy!

Penny's adoption freed up a space for a another puppy to stay at Whiskers N Paws

It was a lucky day for three of the same litter as Penny, who had been staying as a full-time guest at Whiskers N Paws, was adopted, and her two brothers Beano and Sailor were taken for fostering together.

Lottie has taken Penny's place at Whiskers N Paws

It was Willy's big day at last

Penny's brothers Beano and Sailor went to a foster home together

However that came after the best news of all for the afternoon as older pup Willy was finally chosen, and really just in time as his foster family are about to leave for their summer holidays.  Next in line must be Cello, and almost five month-old Bertie, a funny and very talkative smaller-sized boy.  He too had to come back to us today as his foster parent was going out of town on business, so if anyone can foster a lively and happy puppy please let us know.

There was the added bonus of a Two Presents birthday donation from Nicholas, so thank you Nick!

Nicholas shared his 11th birthday with the HKDR dogs and puppies

Bertie loves Sunday afternoons and playing with friends

Helen Kwok was the volunteer photographer for the puppy afternoon and you can see the full album of great shots here:

 Puppy Adoption Day 24 June 2018

Sat 23rd June: Binky goes home

Jelly, Turnip and Molly left our Ap Lei Chau Homing Centre today,  two for fostering and one a trial adoption, as well as another pair of baby pups taken until they are old enough to be separated and go to forever homes.  That leaves just two tiny babies still needing foster care if anyone can help out.

Ticking off the vegetables, Squash, Taro and now Turnip

Out of the three small-sized adults, Turnip was one of the large group of ex-breeder dogs we took in, none of them young or in great shape, so we're grateful that he has at least moved to a real home.  Most of the dogs seem to enjoy the company of others at the Homing Centre, whether four or two legged, but nothing beats having your own bed and night time cuddles.

Binky going home

Binky (black dogs) already knew the other dogs so fitted right in. 

Another dog that came to us as part of a group, this time from a closed-down shelter, also found her forever home today.  In fact Binky was already known to her adopter as she lived in the same village as the old lady who had the shelter, and she (the adopter) had tried to help by walking the dogs at weekends and taking them to the vet for desexing and licensing.  We were told Binky already knew the multiple dogs and cats  living in the home so it was no problem re-introducing her.  That's a great end to this particular story, but one very sad thing we found out is that one of the dogs in the shelter, now called Tom Tom, had spent his whole life in a cage.  Maybe it was because he was a male and not desexed, I don't know.  It wasn't his behaviour as he has been a sweet boy since coming to Tai Po, and I do hope one day we will also be able to celebrate his adoption.


I was wondering about Sunday's weather and how many Lamma puppies I would be able to take over to Whiskers N Paws, but as I'm writing this and the sun is shining I think I'll bring the new litter as well as the older ones.   So there'll be a huge choice of puppies available for both adoption and fostering, in case there are any holiday homes that can take in a guest.

I decided not to invite older puppy Sidney from Tai Po this Sunday, only because I think he will meet more potential adopters at the Homing Centre.  Sidney is the last of the "Meat Puppies", rescued from being eaten as part of the Chinese New Year celebrations.  He needed to have surgery on his eyelids so that held him back a bit, as well as the fact that he was the biggest of the group.  Now the surgery has been done, and he had his desexing at the same time so he is all ready to go to a new home.  Despite his looks and size, Sidney is a soppy boy, a really sweet and loving individual who would make the best family dog.  He can be a bit shy at first with strangers, but it doesn't take long for him to come round. I'll miss his cuddles at Whiskers N Paws, but I want him to have the best chance of finding a home.

Soppy Sidney will stay at Tai Po this Sunday

Fri 22nd June: Lucky Pepper and Buzzy

With the weekend approaching my mind turns to the Sunday puppy afternoon at Whiskers N Paws, and I was checking the puppies at the Homing Centre today to see which ones are ready for adoption.  I'm very happy to report that the remaining "Rubbish Litter", who were found in a terrible condition and very sick, are all happy and thriving, and their skin is clearing up without any need for medication. 

Pepper and big sister Lola

One puppy who won't be there is the last of his litter, and he was taken for a trial with our ex-HKDR Wilma, now Lola.  Pepper's adoption is confirmed with the words "he's part of the family already, I think Lola might go into cardiac arrest if he disappeared." 

Lovely fuzzy Buzzy

Another Tai Po older puppy who has been coming to Whiskers N Paws for the past few Sunday sessions will also not be returning as she is due to be picked up on Saturday.  I loved Buzzy's fuzzy face and happy personality, and her adopter is a lucky man in my opinion.  Still, I love all of the puppies, especially the older ones that I have known since they came to us as tiny babies and have grown up into wonderful doglets.  Both Willy and Cello were part of large litters, and have seen their brothers and sisters leave to be with their human families. Cello has already come back to our Ap Lei Chau Homing Centre where she can be seen any day of the week (except Sunday afternoons), while Willy is still in his foster home but must too be returned in a short time.  Both of these older puppies are fully vaccinated, licensed and desexed, so really ready to move on with their lives.   

Cello

Willy is a very sweet and happy doglet

Thurs 21st June: Another 11 new puppies

Sparky weighs 10kg exactly

Other than the puppies that I knew were waiting to be taken from AFCD Pokfulam, there was a surprise in the shape of a small-sized black-and-white mixed breed, now called Sparky.  He was scared of course, a natural reaction for any dog finding itself in a strange place and with the smell of other unknown dogs (and death) around, but once we were in the van and on our way to Acorn he was happy to stand on my legs and look out of the window.  He's a healthy seven year-old who looks much younger than that, and also very active and eager to walk.  He checked out fine at the vet and even his teeth are clean, so all he needs is desexing.

7 tiny babies need foster homes

I ended up taking just four puppies from AFCD Pokfulam, leaving a few older ones behind for later, the reason being that we have to shift some of our current residents out before adding more.  We had just picked up seven (not six) very young babies from AFCD Sheung Shui, probably only three weeks old not even a month, so they need to go to foster homes as soon as possible.

Beano

I also had a now four-month old litter of five in the van going for yet another blood test to see if the "liquid gold" was finally going to sort their tick fever out, and yes, thankfully they are all doing well.  Beano, Sailor, Tinker and Taylor have been living on Lamma, with Penny being the lucky one chosen to stay at Whiskers N Paws, and it really shows in her behaviour.  She so much more relaxed and confident, and while Beano and Sailor are regulars at the Sunday puppy afternoons, Tinker and Taylor are still very timid.  I think I'll start taking them along every weekend just to get them more used to being handled.

Being at Whiskers N Paws has made a huge difference to Penny

Weds 20th June: Puppy explosion!

These 5 babies are now in foster homes but we have 6 more coming

I knew that there were puppies at AFCD Pokfulam that would need to be picked up on Thursday, but then I got an email from AFCD Sheung Shui asking if we would take a litter of month-old babies, which of course we will but we need help with fostering.  At four weeks the pups will need to be in pairs, and this time there are six of them so that's three homes.  All special baby food will be provided, and being so small there's not too much that needs to be done or given other than lots of love and cuddles.  Please email Cindy at foster@hongkongdogrescue.com if you can help by taking in puppies for a minimum of two weeks, thank you.

This puppy is 8 months old

The pups at AFCD are mixed breeds of unknown parentage, but from time to time we do get named breed puppies arriving, like today.  Someone walked into our Ap Lei Chau Homing Centre with a schnauzer puppy asking if we would take him as they were out at work ten hours a day and didn't have the time to look after him.  This could have been one of the many people who enquired about adoption but were rejected on the grounds that they were out for long hours, and then went and spent a lot of money buying a puppy with inevitable results.

There is a very good reason why people who are out at work all day shouldn't have puppies and that will never change.  Puppies need to have company, play and training, not to mention proper feeding and not the twice daily frugal amount of kibble recommended by the pet shops.  Twenty five little pieces  counted out two times a day, can you believe it?  And the result is food guarding because the puppies are starving.

The schnauzer puppy went straight to a great new home so he's not available for adoption, and he is already enjoying having a schnauzer brother, also from HKDR, to play with.

The schnauzer on the right was also adopted from HKDR as a puppy

Apart from the feeding aspect which pet shops and breeders get so wrong, there's also another thing I want to mention and that is health and poor breeding.  The older schnauzer (in the new home)  had to have surgery on his knees.  He came from a pet shop in Hong Kong somewhere, and even as a baby when he was surrendered I could see his knees were bad. 

I had also contacted another potential home for the new schnauzer who had bought a puppy (now a year old) from an Australian breeder, and that dog has just had surgery on her hips.  So anyone who says they don't want to adopt and would rather buy because they want a healthy puppy is just kidding themselves.  All of our rescue small breeds started life as pet shop or breeder puppies, and the only difference is that we have taken care the surgeries that need doing, or are at the very least aware of them.

Happy Pebble with big sister Tak Tak and poodle friend Kuma

I want to share this lovely photo of a very happy Pebble, who was found as a lone baby in a drain and brought to us.  Pebble has always been a bit shy but so photogenic, and after spending a couple of weeks at Whiskers N Paws he was adopted by a lovely family.  Lucky Pebble (just look at that face!)

Tues 19th June: Whittling numbers down

Can you see little black Indigo? 

Bit by bit the large number of dogs at our Ap Lei Chau Homing Centre is being reduced to a more manageable size as two more left today, little poodle Indigo and ex-breeder bichon boy Taro.  We thought we'd be getting another poodle (found stray) in their place, but even though that one didn't arrive I'm hoping to be able to take one from AFCD on Thursday.  This is another dog with a strange story, and there are many with complicated and often sad histories.

Taro is the dog in the centre

It was an optimistically busy day at Tai Po, the main problem being those annoying summer holidays that so many people take, annoying for us I mean.  Several dogs have been chosen to go to new homes but can't be adopted immediately, so that means more waiting unless someone else comes along who can offer a good home.  We had to introduce a No Holding Policy after having been let down too many times by people who disappeared after promising to adopt, but I really hope in these current cases that's not going to happen.

Bruno is lovely but he has has heartwom

I took the new bulldog to AFCD for licensing today as he had no microchip, and then on to Acorn for a health check.  It was easy to see the typical skin problem and the awful facial fold, which Dr Andy said was the worst he had ever seen (me too), but we also found out that Bruno has heartworm.  It's really so frustrating to see so many cases of this easily preventable disease, and it means we can't treat the skin until the after the heartworm.  The good thing is that Bruno is a super-frendly dog and once he's had everything sorted - if not sooner - he'll be very much in demand I'm sure.

I also had another dog with me who needed to have a heart scan, which reminds me that we still have the very sweet shiba inu boy, Hobo, needing a home or foster.  At the moment, and being still very young, you wouldn't really know that there was anything wrong with him as it will take time for the hole in the heart to start causing visible problems.   Hobo loves playing with the other bigger dogs at the Ap Lei Chau Centre and we allow it because a shorter life of fun is better than a long and boring one.  Of course we wouldn't allow or reccommend log hikes or very vigrous exercise, but having fun is so important for a young dog.

1 year-old Hobo